Too Easy
by Avelona-and-Sally
Summary: What if, on Bloom's way to Earth, something happened? What if her kidnapper was Baltor? What if she developed a crush on her ageless 'caretaker' as the years drew by? Bloom/Baltor
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Again – I have no discipline. Multiple stories will be popping up constantly. You've been warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Winx Club.

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…

_The man smirked at the infant he was holding. She was falling asleep, lulled by the feel of his hands rocking her soothingly against his chest._

_Short, almost-curly scarlet hair capped her head, giving her a boyish appearance, but most babies couldn't be told apart gender-wise, anyway. Her mouth was open in a soft 'coo' that occasionally hn-ed out a murmur, a soft reminder that she wasn't all-the-way asleep yet. Her hands were fisted, tucked away under the sheet – the finest cloth that could be bought, enhanced with several charms and spells to keep her safe – and her eyes were closing. She was warmth in his arms, hn-ing and cooing an unintelligible language that had him straining to hear, though the woods around the two of them were quiet and he generally did not tolerate any sort of nonsense, least of all children's babble._

"_You don't know, do you?" He chuckled darkly, "About your parents, or your sister, or your kingdom…" His lips ravished the words,_

"_I destroyed it all."_

_An unhappy 'phle' made him aware that the girl was trying to sleep, and he was interrupting her. "Sorry, Princess. I'll keep it down from now on." He began walking towards the edge of the trees, ending up on a sidewalk. Once he had magically adjusted his clothes so that his attire wouldn't draw any stares, he began walking down the street, humming a lullaby that helped the baby fall asleep._

_Once he came to a crosswalk, he stopped, though there were no cars in the road. Golden eyes looked up at the moon. "Bloom," he grinned manically, "It was almost too easy."_

[-M-]

"Bloom, I swear by all the gods that I know, if you do not get out of bed right now, I will take that bunny of yours and make _mousse_ out of it!" Baltor roared, banging the pipe in the corner of their apartment.

"Shut _u-u-up…" _came the drawn out response, and something was hurled at the door that connected her room to the hallway.

Smirking, Baltor shook his head, walking slowly to her room. The door posed no problem, even though she had lined it with anti-entrance spells and traps. He knew she only bothered to show him that she _could,_ not even considering that she'd be able to keep him out. Her registration at Alfea would start in a few days – that's when he would worry. For now, her skills were basic. It swung open with a lazy gesture on his part, and he stepped cautiously into her sanctum, knowing full-well that some plush thing would be thrown at him before he could take two steps. As per their morning routine, a stuffed elephant soared in his direction and was caught before it hit his face.

He held it up, examining it. "I don't remember buying you this."

"You didn't," the teenage girl finally sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, "I stole it."

He grimaced, "Of all the things to steal – "

" – Eight _years_ ago."

"Oh. Regardless, I'm hungry for some of those pancake things, so…"

"Can't you make them yourself?"

"I can come up with fifty reasons why _you_ should be the one to do it, but at this moment, I don't care to list them." He walked over, easily picking her up off the bed – which, naturally, only gave her an excuse to cuddle up to him and try to sleep some more – and carried her to their bathroom. He set her carefully on her feet – she blearily looked at her reflection – and kissed her temple, ruffling her hair. Then, he went over to the kitchen and began pulling out the largest frying pan they owned, as well as a spatula and bowl for mixing. This was about as much as he understood the whole process, so he left the tools where Bloom would be able to see them and went to see what was on the news.

Bloom soon came out of the bathroom, looking quite a bit more awake, and eager about the coming day. She wasn't usually like this – on school days, she could be the absolute _last_ person you wanted to meet, but today was special – it was a training day. She was sure she'd forgotten quite a lot of things since last summer – which was a lot worse than this one, because they had still had to pretend that he was her guardian, and thus couldn't hold hands in public, since seventeen-year-old girls 'didn't do that with their caretakers.' She knew that Baltor was 'too old' for her by society's standards, but she also knew that he wasn't _technically_ so old, either.

When she was twelve years old, her magic lessons became a bit more 'hands on,' and rather than just history and _extremely _simple spells, they had begun levitating, using magic to enhance speed, and directing energy to do things. This usually resulted in her setting the surrounding forest on fire, but Baltor was exceptionally patient, and had practiced with her again and again – at the cost of severely singed hair – until she could do fairly well in an evenly-matched mock-battle, as long as she was on offense constantly. It was during this time that he had explained to her _exactly _what he was, describing how three witches had created him – part wizard, part beast – and how he wouldn't age unless he wished.

This was when her mind had begun to entertain the possibility of them together.

It was during a particularly nasty mock-battle during her fifteenth year that her secret came out. His training sessions generally worked like this: They'd start off with a warm-up battle, where he would allow her to access her power and use it to fire red-hot orbs of energy, staying on the defense until the end, when he would switch once he thought she had been active enough. Then he would use the same energy that she was producing on her, forcing her to dodge, duck and maybe try to get one or two shots in amidst all the movement. She had been getting better recently, able to actually _hit_ him if he wasn't careful, so he began to use other magics, along with his copies of her heat energy.

The blows had started coming faster and more frequently. She knew there was nothing really harmful about the spells he was firing, so she didn't complain, as he would often switch between stages randomly, to try and confuse her; to keep her on her toes. But it had been scorching outside, and constantly firing almost-blazing energy-balls was making her tired, not to mention hot. Baltor didn't seem to notice she was slowing, as he was having too much fun firing off semi-dangerous spells, since it had been too long since he'd done so, nevermind that the combination of bad weather and exercise was making his shirt stick to his back. Thinking up a simple secret-exposing spell, he chanted the necessary rhyme and tossed it at her gleefully, freezing when it _actually_ hit her.

It wouldn't hurt her, or make her physically uncomfortable in any way. The spell was designed to find something that was frequently on the victim's mind, and something that worried them to no end. On top of that, it specifically remembered the caster, so that the victim would blurt information that could aid them in the dispute. Bloom had collapsed – out of exhaustion and dehydration – and so Baltor immediately ran over, worrying he had been too rough. The words had rung out across the meadow, loud and clear.

"I like you."

He knew exactly how she meant it right away, because something like a friendly affection wouldn't have bothered her enough for the spell to trigger her saying it. Tears wet her eyelashes as she continued, clutching her arms to her chest, trying to hold it in,

"Do you like me, too?"

He had stared at her - sweaty, with pink burns on her hands from firing spells that she could barely control, salt water trailing down her cheeks and a bottom lip that was trembling so much he might've thought it would fall off. Her hair was sticking to her forehead and there were scrapes on her knees, which could easily be seen, since she was wearing capris and a T-shirt. Her tongue was staining her teeth red; he figured she had bitten it during the battle.

"Yes," he'd said, kneeling and bringing her chin up so that his lips could meet hers. She tasted like salt.

He never regretted his actions, because their relationship now was still a comfortable one, only more romantic than anything else. They'd had to keep it a secret from every person they met. At her insistence, they moved once she was done with high school, so that they could hold hands in public without him "muttering something about a neighbor seeing" - it had really started pissing her off.

They had moved to a small town called Gardenia. It lived up to its name, having lots of parks and community gardens that were attended to by the many flower shop owners. She especially liked that there was a small population, which ensured privacy in the wee hours of the morning, when the two of them went to the park to train – no-one was ever bothered enough by the crowds to get up at four in the morning to have some alone time outside.

And so they settled into a routine – once a week, they would go to the park, early, and fight. Then they would spend the weekend together doing things like eating ice cream, or going to a movie. During the week, he would go to work and then teach her history about the magical world in the evenings. It was comfortable, cozy and absolutely delightful.

However, peace never lasts. On the third Sunday of July, Bloom encountered another fairy…who happened to be fighting some magical creatures at the time.

…

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A/N: Review, please.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own Winx Club.

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A crashing sound came from the living room, followed by a lot of cursing. Bloom nervously peeked around the corner to see Baltor shaking Kiko whilst glaring at her.

"This had better be the _last_ time this furball goes anywhere near my plants!" He exclaimed, scowling and shoving the rabbit at her before going to find a broom to sweep up the broken pieces of clay pot that were lying all over the floor. A broken-stemmed rose lounged miserably half a foot away.

Relieved that he hadn't lost his patience completely, she took the wriggling bunny with a small smirk, "Y'know, for a guy, you get _way_ too protective over _flowers."_ She turned to Kiko, who looked at her guiltily, "And _you. _You know better than to piss off Mr. All-Powerful Wizard." A moment of quiet, and then he was scrambling over her shoulder. He fell to the floor and lie there for a few seconds, dazed, before running back to Bloom's room.

"Take him out. He's done enough damage in my house." Baltor said as he pushed past her, towards the mess, long hair swinging in a ponytail behind him. She took a moment to admire the way it looked against his shirt before answering:

"'Kay. Are you gonna join us at the park?"

"Probably not. I have to go and buy seedlings. Without thinking, he picked the flower up off the ground and then swore. "Damn thorns…"

"Okay. I'll call you if I need you. Bye," she swooped down to give him a swift kiss on the cheek, then ran off to catch Kiko.

"Goodbye," he called, turning to admire the exposed skin of her lower back. Should he really let her out in a shirt that…flaunt-y?

[-M-]

"All right, you," said Bloom to the bunny as she pedaled, trying to talk and avoid cars all at once, "I'm gonna let you loose when we get there, and you had _better_ not run off. You're not street-smart." She punctuated this statement with a fond pet to his head, to which he responded with a noise of pleasure. Bloom laughed, "See? A wild bunny wouldn't – _oh!"_ She swerved dangerously, putting both hands back onto the handlebars and apologizing profusely to anyone nearby.

"Sheesh, we really should watch where we're going, right Kiko?" A non-committal grunt was the reply, causing her to sigh and go on, "All right, _I_ should watch where I'm going. But, really, it's your fault that we got kicked out in the first place." A light snore was heard from the basket that sat between her handlebars, causing her to scowl at the snoozing animal. "Oh, sure, _now_ you're all calm. But when we're _inside…_" The one-person conversation continued like this all the way to the park, where she rested the bike against a tree, gathered up the rabbit, kneeled, and promptly dropped him onto the hard ground.

Terrified eyes stared up at her in a _'why did you do that to me?'_ fashion, but ignored them and muttered something along the lines of 'Couldn't resist…' to herself. As Kiko started to explore his new surroundings, Bloom lie down on the grass and gazed lazily at the tree branches.

It was so _peaceful_ here. This town was just…delightfully normal. Everyone kept their noses out of other's business, there wasn't any paranoia about people finding out about her and Baltor; they could just…be a couple. Until, of course, she left for Alfalfa, or whatever that school's name was. She wasn't particularly excited about going – with Baltor's help, the spells would be very simple; he'd told her that the first year's lessons would be somewhat of a cakewalk for her. (And that phrasing merited a full-on laugh in his face, so they never really got to discussing very much serious stuff afterwards.) Obviously, some of the girls attending would have gotten magic lessons before, and a good amount of experience, which she, practicing in constant secrecy, wouldn't have very much of.

She had a good few more minutes of quiet before a familiar, annoying noise warned her that her blue pet was charging at her. She sat up and caught the creature right when he leaped at her. Holding the panicking bunny, she glared into the wood out of which he had come running. Not seeing anything, she raised an eyebrow at the rabbit in her arms. He almost _whirr_-ed at her, pointing frantically at the trees and jumping frantically, then scrambling off of her lap and tugging her pants to get her to come look.

She frowned, "Don't tell me it's another squirrel. Because I am _not_ gonna get pelted with acorns again." The response was an even louder insistence and more pulling on her jeans. "Alright, fine, let's go look."

"_Damn it – __**Rising Sun Burst!"**_

Bloom stared at the fairy – clad in a _very _scanty, sparkly outfit, complete with overly-long, golden ponytails, wings, and glowing scepter – who was, quite flamboyantly, battling a small army of ghouls. Her whole being radiated with a brightness that was almost difficult to observe for a moment, and then an intense light filled the clearing, leaving a smoking, burnt spot in the grass when it disappeared. Bloom gaped. If that was what it took to finish these guys off, then she was _definitely_ out-matched. Not to mention out-numbered.

Across from the blonde, hidden in shadow, was an enormous, threatening figure, accompanied by several more of the spindly, cat-shaped ghouls. A drawn-out grunt – which may have intended as a growl – made Bloom involuntarily twitch, and grip the tree in front of her more tightly. "Dangerous… Damn it, _why _did I leave my phone at home?" Bloom muttered, gritting her teeth when the red-skinned ghouls advanced towards the unknown girl.

"_**Solar Wind Blast!"**_

"Although, it seems like she's doing fine without help…" the red-head watched angry, hissing creatures fly in all directions upon contact with the blast that seemed to emit from the base of the scepter that the fairy was wielding.

A loud roar was the introduction to a _massive_ yellow ogre, who's small, beady eyes fixed on his opponent. Bloom winced and tried to hide better.

"In case you didn't notice, Solaria's power is _far_ superior to your own. So I suggest you _back down."_ Gripping the now-shining staff close to her, the blonde glared at the repulsive thing, narrowing her eyes when he started charging. A gruff response was the stranger's only warning before she was knocked clear across the clearing.

"Bring me her scepter!" roared the monster, gesturing commandingly towards the fallen girl. Obediently, the pack attacked, holding the fairy down and allowing their boss to pick up the still-active rod, which grew to accommodate the ogre's soccer-ball-sized hands. "Now that we've got it, it's _your_ turn to back down," the creature leered.

"Enough is enough," Bloom said, strutting out from behind her hiding place without thinking. "Hey! Get away from her!" Concentrating hard, she formed a pulsing ball of energy and threw it as hard as she could at the monster. It didn't really do much, besides leave an angry, red burn on his arm.

He laughed, stalking over and grabbing her by her wrists with one hand and lifting her off the ground. "Trying to play the hero? You're not very good at it. Mind your own business!" He swung her over to where he'd been before, ignoring her exclamation of pain.

Bloom grit her teeth and tried to kick the ogre, with no success. _"Let me GO!"_ A fluttering, tickling sensation started right behind her breastbone and spread through her entire body. The next thing she knew, every living thing had been knocked a good distance away. Startled, she looked around in time to see three angry, snarling ghouls running at her, clawed forelegs extended to slice what they could. "Back off!" she screamed, extending one arm in a 'go-away' gesture, unknowingly triggering a blast of her own that caused the three to disintegrate right before her eyes.

"Not bad," said the pigtailed girl, picking her scepter up off the ground and smiling at Bloom. "But it makes a much bigger impact if you call out the names of the attacks when you use them."

"Never done _that_ before," said Bloom, raising her eyebrows at her hands in surprise and looking up at the fairy from her place of the ground, where she'd landed after the magic use wore her out.

Her already-raised eyebrows went up even higher when the stranger collapsed right next to her, glowing gold and changing into something less revealing, but even more strange-looking. The girl felt her now-loose hair and smiled sheepishly at Bloom. "Uh, don't suppose you can get back up and kick butt again?"

"Uh – _ah!" _Bloom kicked hard, trying to shake off the ghoul that was biting into her leg. It seemed futile, since the creature was holding on not only with its fangs, but also with both front talons. There wasn't even another second of struggle, because just then, the thing was shoved off of her, as if by some invisible force. It flew all the way across the clearing, landing behind the ogre, who was, by now, fully recovered from the shock of being shown-up by an Earth girl.

"_That_ was a warning shot," Baltor said, restlessly fisting his hands and coming up in front of Bloom. More ghouls leaped at them, but they were all destroyed before they could even get close, disintegrating in the air with a series of effortless gestures on the wizard's part.

The three remaining ones, one of which had a large part of Bloom's bloody pant leg in its jaws, clustered behind the ogre, recognizing an enemy that they couldn't defeat. The large monster scowled, clapping his hands together with a foreboding 'This isn't over!' and disappeared in a vortex of pink light.

Without comment, Baltor turned and lifted Bloom, chanting something that soon had them back in the apartment. He carefully set her down on the couch and offered their guest a chair before summoning a First-Aid kit and getting to work on the girls' numerous scrapes and burns.

"As I say this, I get the feeling that I'll be saying it again in the future." He sighed, "What happened?"

…

…

A/N: I've been pressing a lot harder when playing the guitar, and now my calluses hurt. They're peeling.

Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Just to clear a few things up, Baltor told Bloom about what he _is,_ not what he _did._ She has no clue about any of it – not even about the Dragon Fire. I thought that might be a bit confusing, although the third chapter might be a little late to say so. Oh, well.

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"So, you're going to Alfea, too?" Bloom's guest asked enthusiastically, "Maybe the board will put us in the same dorm!"

The girl's name had turned out to be Stella, and she was, apparently, a princess from a realm called Solaria, which had been mentioned once or twice in some of the textbooks Baltor had conjured for her. She was very…bubbly, enthusiastic about getting to know the Earth girl with magic powers. While there was a definite materialistic ring to everything the blonde said, she was very well-informed, actually knowing more about the school they would be attending than Bloom did, as she hadn't taken much of an interest to it.

"But it's kind of a slim chance, isn't it? I mean, there're gonna be tons of students attending." In truth, Bloom _did_ want to share a dorm with this girl, despite her quirks. Baltor's raised eyebrow at the blonde's first exclamation: - _"Hey, I hadn't noticed, but that top is _cute!" – didn't have much of an effect on the red-head's opinion. He hadn't seen this girl in battle; she was powerful _and_ more experienced than her, and a little girly indulgence never hurt anyone – Lord knows the only half-close female friend she'd ever had was Mitzy, an obnoxious gossip who was _far_ less kind than Stella.

"_Oh,_ don't be such a party-pooper. There's still a chance, no-matter how small!" The girl sang, pulling clothes out of Bloom's wardrobe and looking them over in a professional way that had Bloom worrying about her choice of wardrobe. "Hm, you pass," Stella said, putting Bloom's second-favorite dress back on its hanger and placing that where she had found it, "I'd say it's all a bit plain, but this is Earth, so…" Stella paused suddenly, and blushed covering one of her pink cheeks with a hand, "Sorry, I just…do that."

Bloom laughed, "It's no problem," In fact, the girl really seemed to know what she was doing. "So, tell me about Alfea."

The blonde brightened, "Oh, it's really great! I've toured other magic schools, but _this_ one is definitely the best so far! Supposedly great teachers, wonderful campus, etc, etc. There are three schools in total in the Magix realm," Stella signaled with her fingers, taking one down for each school listed, "One, Alfea; two, Cloud Tower; and three, Red Fountain. The first two are all-girls magic schools, though Cloud Tower specializes in witches. It's totally twisted – the school _encourages_ getting into trouble and all that. I think the school's motto is 'mayhem' or something…" she frowned, then continued, "But Red Fountain is a boy's school, and, lemme tell ya', the guys that go there are _so gorgeous!"_ Stella stopped and blushed.

Bloom caught on, smiling sneakily, _"Ooh, _is there someone there that you _like?"_ Her smile widened when Stella smiled dreamily to herself, nervously bumping her forefingers together.

"His name's Sky, and he's a prince!" She giggled, "He's so handsome~!"

"Well that's good – you're both royalty. There shouldn't be any problem then, should there?" said Bloom, sitting down on her bed.

"Oh, no!" Stella shook her head, "My parents are all-for that 'be with whoever you love' thing. Even if he wasn't, everything would be fine."

"Great!" Bloom stood up and rolled her shoulders, "Then let's get some pizza! I'm starving!"

Stella grinned and nodded in agreement, choosing the dress that she had previously examined as her outfit for the day. Bloom left the room to let Stella change and walked down the hall to the living room, where Baltor was looming over several registration papers.

"This one's about the dorm assignments," he said, pointing at a lavender-colored sheet of paper, "I'm assuming that you'll want to have Stella in yours? And they've already sent out apology letters saying that everyone who wanted their own room enough to bribe the staff got one, which means there aren't any for the rest of you."

Bloom raised an eyebrow, smirking, "They said that?"

Baltor held up another sheet of paper, this one a baby blue, "I read between the lines."

Instead of taking it, Bloom swept the paper on the table away from him, causing him to turn. Her smile morphed into something more mischievous as she leaned in and touched her lips to his. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, murmuring something that may have been French. She responded with a breathy moan, dropping the lavender form and tangling her fingers in his hair.

"Oh!" They turned to see Stella, wearing the dress – now a different color – with small braids interwoven into her hair, "Am I interrupting?"

"Yes," said Baltor with a friendly smile, aware of Bloom's reddening cheeks, "And it was just getting good, thank you." He gave the blushing redhead a tight hug, and then sat down again to finish filling out the multi-colored papers.

Stella laughed and went over to the coat closet to pick out a pair of shoes to go with her dress, while Bloom rushed to her room to dress up for their lunch date.

[M]

"I didn't mention this before, but what's pizza?" Stella asked.

Bloom, now clad in a bright tank-top and black mini-skirt, complete with strappy sandals, replied, "It's a really popular dish here. You take dough, roll it out, spread sauce, cheese, and vegetables on top, and then you bake it. Altogether, it's like a sandwich, only baked and without the mayonnaise and stuff."

"Oh, I _love_ mayonnaise," said Stella, "Like, in salads and stuff. On its own, the texture puts me off."

"Well, I can guarantee you'll like this, even if there's no mayo," said Bloom, "There's a bunch of different toppings, so everyone can enjoy what they want."

"That sounds good. Hey, remind me to introduce you to Solaria's pastries. They're _so _light, it's like eating clouds!"

"Sure thing," said Bloom.

Food remained the topic of conversation, causing each girl to feel hungrier and hungrier, so that, by the time they got there, Bloom was positively _craving_ a slice of pepperoni and a cold glass of ginger ale, while Stella was very eager to try this new dish. Both filed into the shop, choosing to get a small pizza with everything on it, so that Stella could try all the toppings and decide what she liked. Both chatted in between bites, half-talking about school and half-people watching. Lunch was over quickly and both of them were stuffed when they strolled home, giggling in the warm sunshine.

[M]

"How was your afternoon?" asked Baltor, encircling Bloom's waist with his arms and resting his chin on her head to peer at Stella. Bloom blushed at the intimate gesture, but stood on her tip-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Stella smiled, not at all fazed by the couple's display of affection, "It was great! We had pizza for lunch, which was good, apart from the…what were they, again?"

"Jalapeños?" Bloom offered.

"Uh-huh, those. I'm no good with spicy food." Stella shrugged, "Mind if I use your shower?"

Bloom shook her head, "Feel free."

Baltor smiled at the blonde's retreating back, then spun Bloom around for a kiss, "Has she shown you the campus yet?"

"What?"

"Hmm. I thought she'd be eager to show you the school – she's Solaria's heir, right? I believe they have a scepter that can transport people from place to place, and I think there was a tradition of passing it down from generation to generation." Baltor said thoughtfully, staring into space and wracking his brain for more information on the girl's magic staff.

"The ogre that attacked us wanted the scepter – could that be why?" Bloom mused.

"Doubtful – he disappeared without it, remember? And he doesn't seem to be very powerful, since he could barely handle you two," Baltor rubbed his chin, "I'm betting he works for someone, although why someone would want the royal scepter, I have no clue." His expression turned rougish and he tightened his hold on Bloom's waist, "Letting you go is becoming a worse and worse idea everyday."

Bloom snickered, lowering her eyes in as flirty a way as she could, "Stella says that there's a school for boys nearby – and that they're _all_ good-looking."

Instead of arguing, Baltor leaned into her, capturing her mouth with his and changing the playful mood into something more intense. Bloom's eyes opened wide when she felt herself being lifted off the floor, only to relax again when Baltor sat her down on the table. Her fingers trailed down his face, tracing defined cheekbones and later tangling into strawberry blonde hair. She breathed in the scent of spices and cologne.

In response, Baltor's hands roamed across her back, then gripping her hips to stop her squirming when his lips trailed down to taste the skin of her cleavage. "The one day you wear something that doesn't expose your stomach…" Baltor murmured into her ear. She groaned in response. Again, his mouth was on hers, his tongue running over her lips, and then…nothing.

Bloom stared at him in confusion when he walked over to the kitchen counter and picked up the newspaper like nothing had happened. It took her a moment to realize why, though she blushed when she heard Stella's coos in the living room. Apparently the blonde fairy had found Kiko, and was being won over by the odd dance that he tended to do. Bloom pouted, running a hand through her mussed-up hair, "You could _tell_ me when we have to stop, instead of making me think I did something wrong." Baltor chuckled and turned to a new page.

"Hey, thanks," said Stella, already wearing Bloom's robe, "It was really hot outside – the shower helped."

"No worries," said Bloom, looking outside. The sun was close to setting. "So…Baltor tells me your scepter can transport people to other dimensions."

"Oh, yeah. Hey – that gives me an idea! You wanna see the school? I've got an express portal that can take us directly to the forest outside campus – the school will be in our sight!" Stella clasped her hands together and then rushed to where she'd put her stuff. Bloom waited for a moment before following her back to her room. With an effortless gesture, the blonde fairy caused the postcard-looking thing to expand in size and stepped onto it, moving down _through_ the card and into the scene it depicted.

After hesitating a moment, Bloom followed, gasping when she saw the grand castle which was actually closer than she'd expected, "So this is Alfea…"

"Yup! Impressive, isn't it?"

Bloom drank in the view, taking deep breaths to savor the scent of pine that was all around her. The school itself was a huge castle, colored in soft pastels that actually made her think of some of the simpler spells that Baltor had guided her through. "It _is_ beautiful…"

Stella looked at her, "But…"

Bloom sighed, "It's nothing. This is the first year Baltor and I are able to be together, really, and I'm just not that psyched about spending it at school, is all," she shrugged, a bit surprised when Stella took her hand.

"I _promise_ you – it's gonna be fun! Even if we don't have classes together, we'll hang out all the time," Stella flung her arms around the red-head, "Oh, _dah_ling, you mustn't be so downhearted!"

Bloom laughed and returned the hug, "I'm not saying I don't wanna go! C'mon, let's see if Baltor'll let us rent a movie to watch." Both girls jumped to activate the portal above them and allowed themselves to slowly be lifted through the portal again. When they emerged, however, both caught the sounds of glass breaking.

"Is that normal?" Stella asked.

"Whadda _you_ think?" Bloom said, rushing out of the room to see Baltor having a staredown with the ogre from before in the living room. "This isn't good."

"No kidding. I _despise_ when people don't give up." Baltor said, raising a glowing hand and forcing the monster back through the entrance. It didn't work very well, however, because behind him came another one, a troll, with long, oily hair and no clothes, besides a metallic thing that Bloom doubted could count as underwear. The stench from both filled the room, making her want to gag.

"Oh, great," said Stella from behind Bloom, "I was _so_ looking forward to seeing you again."

A menacing roar came from the blue-skinned troll, earning a "No way they're gonna let us live here anymore," from Baltor. Bright light filled the room, and when Bloom turned, she saw that Stella was once again wearing the sparkly orange ensemble. The girl's wings lifted her into the air and she delivered a powerful kick to the troll's jaw. This, in turn, got her thrown against the opposite wall.

Baltor turned to Bloom, "What did I teach you about battling trolls?"

She paused, thinking back to the sunny afternoons spent with magic books, "Aim for their knees!" Two pulses of energy were aimed at said joints in rapid succession, causing the creature to fall, allowing Baltor to easily capture him in a bubble that restricted movement. The ogre growled at them, taking several involuntary steps back.

"Seriously, stop bugging us. You're not gonna win, sunshine," Stella said, coming up to where the other two were standing and placing a hand on her hip.

With a last snarl – not so threatening now that Bloom had seen him beaten twice – he clapped his hands together and disappeared in that same vortex of pink light.

"I'm not cleaning at this time of night," said Bloom.

…

…

A/N: I know, it's weird, but apparently it _is_ spelled 'faze.' I looked it up.

…Review!


	4. Chapter 4

It was decided that Bloom would leave with Stella the next morning, before any more "shit went down," as Bloom had said. Baltor was decidedly pouty about this, saying that, as much as he complained, the fighting had been the most exercise he'd had in eighteen years – an insult Bloom had hardly paid attention to – and that cleaning hardly counted as such when glass could be repaired by an effortless snap of the fingers from any one humanoid in the residence. But Bloom, inwardly chuckling at her masochism, had firmly stated that she would be leaving for Alfea with Stella because she didn't want to kick their very welcome guest out just because of a rowdy ogre.

Baltor attempted asking Stella to stay, too, but the princess knew when she was inviting too much trouble and refused to intrude any longer. And so, the next morning, Bloom and Stella passed through the express portal without Baltor, much to the red-head's disappointment. He had told them Alfea wasn't very fond of him (which puzzled Bloom a bit, but she didn't dig any deeper) and instead gave them luck; in Bloom's case, this was given in the form of a steamy kiss that resulted in her breakfast toast being burned through neglect, in Stella's – a nod.

The scent of pine seemed to be more subtle this time around, and she could pick out the scents of dew and flowers, too. The sky was clear, but not so much that the sun baked, and the grass looked soft underneath her feet. Bloom immediately wanted to go back. Stella seemed to sense this and linked arms with her, pulling her towards the campus with an encouraging grin on her face. "Homesickness can go and rot - this place is too fun not to enjoy!" she sang, increasing her pace until they were positively hurdling towards the school, high-heeled sandals threatening to break ankles and hair that had been carefully curled in the hopes of giving Baltor a lasting impression of a pretty girlfriend tangling and becoming flyaway. They pulled up, gasping – and maybe, just maybe, Bloom was _laughing_ – in front of the gate that opened prettily, like a flower, to let them in. Stella hastily finger-combed her blonde locks and began doing the same to Bloom without asking permission. Reassured by the easy familiarity, Bloom gripped her suitcase with more confidence and took a steady step inside.

_Everyone_ was chatting, talking to those they knew from last year, gathered in those intimidating circles of people who, undoubtedly, all _knew_ each other and were all aware of what to say to make the group laugh, as well as who had done what over the summer and how to best share the news. Bloom felt her heart squeeze; how she _hated_ not fitting in.

Stella distracted her from the crowd. "Right, _that's _Griselda – steer clear of her. She's in charge of discipline."

"How is it you know who the teachers are but you're in my year?" Bloom asked.

"I blew up the potions laboratory last year," she said, not even bothering to look embarrassed, "My parents convinced them to take me back by donating a computer lab." 

"How much money do you have, exactly?" Bloom said with a raised eyebrow, switching her suitcase to her right hand to better talk to her friend.

"Oh, enough. Solaria's economy is doing pretty well – though we are having a bit of trouble with a few members of the aristocracy…" She broke off, looking melancholy.

"H-Hey, come on – first day! We gotta look on the bright side!" Bloom proclaimed, determined not to let her one source of peppiness drift off into depression, "Whatever it is, you can't let it interfere with this; first impressions _are_ important!"

Stella gave her an upraising glance, "That's right. Thank you, Bloom."

She resumed her usual head-up, back-straight posture and sashayed proudly to Griselda who gave her a mini-lecture about unsupervised magic and then let her through. Bloom followed, earning a stern, "I hope you're careful not to follow your friend's example," and then pointed in the direction of her dorm, which, amazingly, was Stella's as well.

"_Woo-hoo!_ I knew it! Lady Luck _is _fond of me today," she said with a fond pat to her remarkably orderly – considering the run – hair. Bloom touched hers too, to see if there was a difference in the neatness, but there wasn't. Apparently Stella's fingers were all she needed to untangle strands. She locked that away for future reference.

A minute or two afterwards, there was a call for orientation, and then they were dismissed to their rooms.

[-M-]

Bloom looked at Stella, "So, are you and I gonna share?" They were walking to their dorm, and the subject of roommates was what flavored the air, punctuated by the exclamations from unknown fairies who were already getting acquainted in the dormitories that lined the long hallway.

"No way! Sorry, _dah_ling, but my clothes cannot yield space to someone else's. I'll be using a single, but I'll be right next door to you, so no worries." She finished with a wink.

"Uh-huh…" Bloom said, heartbeat picking up speed now that she knew she had to impress someone she'd never even heard of before. Eighteen years of Baltor had left her cynical and anti-social (Stella seemed to be an exception) and making friends wasn't one of her strong suits.

They entered Stella's room first; Bloom gawked. _"This_ is a bedroom? A single bedroom? For one person?" Stella looked like she was about to comment on whatever the fabulous room was lacking, but then thought back to Bloom's apartment and thought better of it. Bloom appreciated that. "It's totally awesome! – Whoa." She said, noticing the racks underneath the staircase, "I'm guessing those are the 'closet' that you couldn't spare?"

"And those," Stella replied, pointing to more exposed racks that hung over rows and rows of drawers, "I'm still worried there aren't enough, though – clothes need to _breathe._ They need space between them and the garment next to them." A question appeared on Bloom's face, and Stella picked up on it without pause, "They assume that the people who have enough money to secure top spots on the list for single rooms also have enough money to purchase lots and lots of stuff for their daughters – and they're right."

Stella pulled a charm off a bracelet she was wearing and effortlessly channeled her winx into it. Then she seemed to concentrate for a moment and pointed at several racks and chests about the room. Clothing appeared out of the charm, which Bloom guessed was a sub-space pocket of some sort, and grew to full size, then took up spots in the spaces Stella had pointed to. The fairy dusted her hands in an "all-done" gesture and smiled at Bloom, "Let's go meet your roomie!"

The first thing Bloom noticed was that her room was decorated, unlike Stella's had been. Everywhere, there were plants. On the windowsill, in every corner, completely _covering_ one of the desks, and resting on tables that dotted the empty space between the two furnished corners of the half-a-football-field-sized room, though not obnoxiously. Then, to her discomfort, the plant closest to the door began moving and attempted to strike up a conversation with her.

"It talks." She said, pointing in a possessed manner at the enormous teal bud that smiled at her, "It talks." She said to Stella.

"Hi, I'm Flora!" Said 'Flora' appeared out of nowhere with a sweet smile and stroked the _living_ plant, "I made him myself – if people begin to think of plants as conscious beings, deforestation is _bound_ to become less popular!" She explained to the shell-shocked Earthling. The girl had caramel-brown hair as long as Stella and skin a few shades darker than the other fairy. She stood, a few inches shorter than Bloom in pink sandals with a matching, strawberry-printed skirt and a green tee that showed off a naturally-concave stomach.

"I'm Bloom," the red-head introduced herself, "That's cool."

"You're my new roommate!" Flora said with a happy clasping of her hands.

"_We're_ your new roommates," Stella corrected with an easy smile, "I'm Stella; I'm in the single!"

"Ooh, lucky; I signed up for one, too, 'cause I didn't want to leave any plants behind, but I didn't get one. So I just took my experiments and left the rest at home," she punctuated her regret with a tilt of the head, which both fairies acknowledged with sympathetic 'hmm's.

"I'm rather into experimentation myself, though it's more digital than botanical," announced a newcomer from behind. The girl was taller than Stella, with short, magenta hair and a skinny, pale frame, like she often neglected to eat and exercise. A few ribs could be seen if you looked carefully just under her purple-and-neon green vest. She wore matching pants and heeled sneakers that looked like something out a movie set fifty years into the future. "I'm Tecna. I've heard a lot about _you,"_ she pointed to Stella.

The blonde took this in stride, shrugging like it was a compliment, "It was in the name of fashion."

"What exactly did you blow the lab up for?" Bloom asked.

"Yeah, and is there any chance you'll give us all a warning before doing it again?" said a new voice. All four of the girls turned towards the door, where the last of their dormmates stood, with a joking smile on her face. Unlike Stella and Tecna, who were both skinny, and Flora, who had soft curves, she, like Bloom, was sculpted out of lean muscle and few curves, which were only evident in her hips and chest. She wore a one-shoulder midriff-bearing red top and overly-long jeans with many pockets. She matched up in height with Bloom, which made her about Stella's height, since she wasn't wearing heels.

"I was trying to create a new shade of pink," Stella said, crossing her arms and pouting as best she could without over exaggerating and ruining the effect. No-one took it seriously, though, and instead the new girl was asked to introduce herself.

"I'm Musa," she said with a shake of short, midnight-blue pigtails, "Have you guys all unpacked yet? I'm in the mood for a slice."

"Of pizza?" Stella asked, testing out her new vocabulary.

"Yeah. You ever had any?"

"I tried some on Earth; it's okay."

"Well, Magix's pizza is super-awesome; there's a sauce that's _so_ spicy, it'll feel like your taste buds took off," Musa mimed a spaceship leaving land.

"Ew! Nothing spicy!" Stella recoiled.

"Alright, alright, you can get what you want," Musa turned to Bloom, "You ever been?"

"How could you tell?"

"Just your expression," she supplied. She grinned and gave a thumbs up,

"It'll blow you away."

[-M-]

The bus dropped them off at a stop in the part of the city closest to the school. Everyone insisted Bloom cover her eyes, and Tecna guided her out of the vehicle with her hands on her shoulders, "Ready? Open!"

Bloom gave a small smile at the feel of all the magic around her, noticing that the city looked more futuristic than magical, and feeling a bit out of her league.

"Well?"

"Impressive," she said, "Very tech-y vibe."

"More-so than some places," Flora said, "But not so much that it's awful," she pointed to some plants that dotted the sidewalks with color, "All their plants are really well-tended to. I checked."

"Well, let's go get that pizza," Musa said, eyeing Tecna's slightly irked expression, "That's what we came here for, isn't it?"

They found themselves a pizza joint that seemed popular enough, and all sat down outside to enjoy their meal. The pizza was a good deal stranger than any she'd tried back on Earth, with a zest she couldn't really identify. Around sundown, they had all finished and were just cozying up with a few cups of tea or cocoa, talking about where they came from and what they were interested in. Flora and Stella were engaged in a conversation about faux flowers, and Bloom, Tecna and Musa were talking about a magazine article that had come out recently.

"What's wrong, Bloom?" asked Musa.

"My cell phone; Baltor said it should work – it's the latest model back on Earth."

"It looks ancient," remarked Tecna, "I could take a look at it for you; see if I could update it any. There's an inter-realm feature that I've been dying to try and get onto a phone. My parents wouldn't buy me another one for the purpose, though." She looked a bit peeved about that.

"All yours," Bloom consented, "Does anyone have a phone I could use to call home?"

"You need an inter-realm phone to call anywhere that isn't on this planet," Musa said, "It's hopeless otherwise. No signal. I remember there's one a couple blocks away."

"You can use my card," said Tecna, passing her a green and blue card depicting a red phone.

[-M-]

"Hey. It's me."

"Everything alright? Swell roommates, nice dorm?" She heard the sound of something sizzling and felt her mouth fill with saliva even though she'd just eaten. His stir-fry wasn't something to scoff at.

Bloom laughed, "Who uses the word 'swell' nowadays? Yeah, everything's cool. The girls are all really nice, and – guess what? Stella's my roommate! We decided to go to downtown Magix for pizza, and I thought I'd give you a call."

"That's kind of you," she heard amusement from the other side.

"Did you know Earth's way behind on technology? My new dormmate, Tecna, said that my phone's ancient! She offered to take it apart and install something-or-other that can update it so I can call you."

"Hmm; I knew that the other realms were ahead of Earth, but I didn't know their phones were _that_ far behind. I'll have to purchase one for you from somewhere else."

"No, that's alright, I want to give Tecna's method a chance first – it seems like she really knows what to do with electronics," she said, making a "well, you see," gesture with one hand that was obviously wasted on the wizard, "How've you been?"

"Fine. Making stir-fry, as you've probably guessed."

"Without me?" Bloom whined.

"You're not even hungry – you _just_ told me you ate!" He rose to the bait.

"Yeah, but that could've been _hours_ ago," she said with a smirk, "You don't know."

"So, what am I supposed to do? Deny myself stir-fry until your summer break?"

"Yes, that sounds about right." 

"Like hell!" The sizzling increased in volume, and she swallowed.

"Would you make some for me on the Day of the Rose?" she said with a whimper.

"Of course," he said, his voice deep and ringing against the hissing frying pan, "But that won't be for nearly another month."

She sighed, leaning against the side of the booth, "I miss you. But I should probably hang up now; I'm using Tecna's phone card."

He agreed, "Call me as soon as that phone of yours is usable."

"All righ - !" Bloom stared. The ogre from Earth walked past her, not having noticed anything. _'What's he doing _here?' she wondered, _'And what's he looking so worried for?'_

"Bloom? What is it?" Baltor's voice had an edge of panic to it.

"It's the ogre from before. He's rushing off somewhere," she murmured.

"_Don't _go after him. I mean it, _don't - "_

"Why would he be _here?"_ asked Bloom.

"Don't go picking any fights you can't win!" he said with exasperation.

"He isn't snooping around Stella; she's in the other direction." She said.

"At least…" said Baltor weakly, "Take someone with you."

Bloom grinned, "Love you. Bye." She hung up, pulling the card out rather forcefully and tearing to where Stella was, intent on finding out what the ogre was up to – with a little backup.

…

…

A/N: I find it ridiculous that the girls all have the same body shape, height (except for Musa, who doesn't wear heels) and face shape. Thus, I'm switching it up a bit, according to how I think they should look. And, yes, I do expect Stella to encounter problems with an eating disorder, because of her interests in particular, but mostly because I feel that an ED is something that lots of girls go through. I went through it, so did one of my friends, and I have someone who I suspect is suffering right now.

All that aside, _review!_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Special thanks to _Authoress__in__training_, whose review made me pull my laptop out from piles of homework and start typing again. Who needs good grades, anyway?

…

…

"I don't get it, though," Stella whispered, "Why do you care so much, anyway?"

They were huddled behind three or four garbage cans in Witches' Alley – a position Stella was _very_indignant about. Bloom had handed Tecna her phone card back with very rushed 'thank you' and asked Stella for a word away from everyone else. After they'd gotten out of sight, Bloom had grabbed the blonde fairy's wrist and run to where she'd seen the ogre leave to, explaining along the way. Stella had tried to persuade her to come back to where everyone else was, saying that there was every chance their yellow friend was just doing some shopping, but no such luck. Bloom was determined to find out what he was up to.

"Because I'm a glutton for punishment; _shush.__"_

"We _have_ to get that ring," said one voice rang out cruelly. The ogre shifted and the three figures that could be seen talking to him were blocked from view. There was a lull in the conversation between the four, then a giggle.

"Anyway," they heard the ogre say.

"_Bloom!__"_ Stella pocked her shoulder.

That was all the warning she got before she was blasted halfway across the alley. "You're the ones the ogre's taking orders from," she ground out, picking herself off the disgusting who-knows-what that littered the dark space and looked up at the three who had been discussing the theft.

They were all of equal height, though they couldn't have been more different in appearance. The one in the middle was leaner and more strict-looking, with a severe ponytail that reached down a few inches above her cloak, which itself was long enough to possibly get stepped on by her thigh-high black leather boots. On her left was a curvy girl with curly, frizzy hair in the shape of a storm cloud, who wore a maroon mini-dress and ankle-high matching boots. On her right was – no-one.

"We're Cloud Tower seniors," said somebody from behind her, and Bloom turned to see the last of the trio – a slender girl with ridiculously long, brown hair and a strap less one-piece violet suit.

"Could'a figured _that_ one out," Stella declared cheerily, sitting up from where she had been hurled into a wall, "The scary eye shadow is a dead giveaway."

The ponytail-ed girl didn't mince words, "Give us the ring," she ordered, extending a clawed – or were those just _really_ long nails? – hand for the jewelry Stella had on her finger.

"Uh, _no.__"_ said the blonde.

"Then you leave us no choice," said the curly-haired witch in a voice that told everyone present of how much she enjoyed not having a choice. She raised a leather arm warmer-decorated hand and made a swishing motion, as if she was batting someone out of her way. Not half a second later, a _tornado_ swept through the alley, knocking both Bloom and Stella back to their original location. What Bloom hit, though, was not a garbage can, but a person.

"We were wondering what you two were talking about and decided to ask you. We figured something was up when you were nowhere to be found," supplied Tecna, lifting Stella off the ground and facing the witches. "What's going on?"

"Like I'd tell _you,__"_ said the witch in the cloak, "Nut! Get up here and make some fairy dust!"

The ogre spared his mistress one glance before roaring like a beast and charging at the girls.

"Now!" shrieked Stella. Apparently, the command was understood by everyone except Bloom, because a bright light was emitted from each of them. After a few seconds, Bloom saw that each had transformed – recognizing Stella's sparkly booty shorts and knee-high boots, she assumed their get-ups were also for magical battle.

Flora was wearing a lily-pink mini-dress and had grown fairy wings a bit different from Stella's. So had Musa, though her outfit was red and clingier than the brunette's. Tecna's was strangest – she appeared to have donned a purple jumpsuit with a similar hat, and her wings were glowing green wires.

The latter wasted no time in attacking the monster: _**"**__**Digital**____**Web!**__**"**_A stream of green energy shot out of her hands and encircled the ogre, forming a gridded sphere that lifted him, captive, off the ground.

"_**Sonic**____**Blast!**__**"**_ Declared Musa, spreading her hands like Tecna had and aiming for the oddly-shaped cage. The outlines of two enormous neon-purple speakers appeared on either side of the captured enemy and unleashed a stream of sound that had the sphere bouncing up and down and the creature bellowing in pain.

"_**Ivy**____**Rope!**__**"**_ Flora said sternly, bringing her hands to her face and blowing like she was sending the ogre a kiss. Instead, sparkling green powder drifted out from between her hands and landed beneath the monster. Vines appeared, grabbing at his ankles first, then penetrating the force field and wrapping around him completely, flinging him over the witches and out of sight.

"Utterly_useless,__"_ hissed one of the Cloud Tower girls angrily and spread her cloak like a bat, unleashing a torrent of rock-hard crystals that were soaring straight at them.

"Get behind me!" Tecna announced, _**"**__**Firewall!**__**"**_ A green shield appeared at her forearm and she raised it to her face, deflecting the surprisingly on-target ice that had been fired at them.

"Nice pun!" said Musa, giving her pink-haired friend a thumbs up; Tecna ignored her.

"_**Lightning**____**Flash!**__**" **_said the curly-haired witch, and pointed at the girls, all huddled behind the shield. Tecna, who had held her own against the projectiles, did not fare well against the energy, and was blown back, along with the rest of them, by the lightning.

The ponytail-ed witch said something a little too quiet for them all to hear, groaning and dazed as they were on the ground. Bloom raised her head wearily and saw that the woman was chanting something. A frigid cold was settling in the area. Stella struggled up and removed her ring, tossing it into the air, _**"**__**Sun**____**Power!**__**"**_ she jumped and grasped it before it even seemed ready to hold, _**"**__**Get-us**____**Out**____**Of**____**Here-us!**__**"**_ she screamed, and Bloom felt a warm energy pull her out of existence and deposit her in front of the school. She slumped forward; the world went black.

[-M-]

"Lucky; the five of you are just in time. Any later and you would've been out past curfew," Griselda commented, adjusting her rectangular glasses with a reprimanding stare, as if they _had_ been out later than they should have.

"No worries – we promise to stick to the rules this year!" said Stella cheerily, crossing her fingers behind her back and winking to Bloom, who was still shivering on her right.

"Get back to your dormitories immediately!" barked the woman, eyes narrowing spectacularly at the blonde fairy, as if she knew exactly what the girl had done.

"Just a moment," the motley crew turned to see the headmistress walking towards them, cutting an impressive-yet-godmotherly figure in her tall heels and purple jacket, "Bloom, I would like to speak with you about your application – it's nothing like that Griselda, you may relax."

Surprise that the headmistress knew her name, the red-headed fairy could only nod numbly and wave her roommates goodbye, assuring herself that Stella would explain what had gone on; they hadn't had time to explain what had occurred in the alley to the girls who had bravely fought in the battle that hadn't been theirs.

"I'm Ms. Faragonda, dear – no worries, I don't expect you to know my name already. It's only the first day, after all."

"Is there a problem with my papers?" Asked Bloom, thinking back to Baltor's explanations while he'd been filling out the forms.

"Well, I am a bit curious – you come from Earth; a planet I didn't think had any magical creatures left," said the older woman, hoop earrings dangling as she walked briskly to her office and held the door open for the still-shivering girl, "And there was no name under the Parent/Guardian section of the application."

Bloom's brows furrowed; Baltor had mentioned something about this, she was sure of it, but it was very likely she hadn't been listening and had missed it completely. Regardless, if he'd left the field blank, he must've had a good reason, and she didn't want to mess anything up by giving him away.

"Is – Is that a problem?" Like hell it wasn't a problem – a teenager applying to a school without adults watching her? 

"Oh, no, it happens often enough – Cloud Tower, for example, has an unimaginable number of parentless applicants who have discovered the school through their own means." Oh. "But it still intrigues me – do you know what your magical identity is? – The specialty your winx gives you?" Faragonda asked kindly, searching Bloom's face.

"Uh…I'm sorry, I don't," Bloom shook her head, honestly not knowing what the answer was. "But I heard that the school helps you find that yourself."

"That's true, it does," the headmistress leaned back, away from Bloom's prying gaze, "I apologize; my questions must be quite unwelcome, especially since you look like you could do with a hot shower and some sleep." She stood up, giving Bloom the que to follow, "There's a mystery that's been plaguing the magical community for quite some time now and Earth is one of the question marks in the whole affair. I was just curious about our own ambassador," she smiled, eyes warm. Bloom felt trust blossom in her heart. "Well – you ought to get to bed now; heavens, Griselda will have a field day if she knew a student's prowling the corridors at night on the first day!"

Bloom thanked the woman and apologized for not being of any more help; she got to the door, but turned around when she heard, "Oh, and Bloom,"

The headmistress' eyes twinkled, "Welcome to Alfea."

[-M-]

"So let me go over this again – those witches want Stella's ring and they've attacked you thrice, now, trying to get it?" Tecna said, arms crossed, pacing the common area between their three rooms.

"What do they want it for?" asked Flora, bringing her knees up under her chin.

"I went over some of the possibilities with my boyfriend, back at home," Bloom said, "Since the scepter can transport people from place to place, it's a powerful magical object in its own right, but the ogre's proved he can get himself from place to place without it. Since the witches are the ones ordering him around, we can assume that's not what they want it for, since it's likely they can get from one place to another with more ease than him."

"Which puts us right back where we started," said Musa, collapsing back onto the couch, "I'm beat. I'm going to bed. Who knew I'd start fighting evil _this_ early on in my magic career?"

"Ditto," said Stella, covering a yawn and heading for the bathroom. A second later, a robe and towel drifted out of her room and followed her.

"Anyway, thanks for showing up, you guys. You really didn't have to," Bloom said to the fairies still present.

"You kidding? What kind of roommates would we be if we bailed?" Musa asked, sitting up and looking at her, "I don't like witches any more than you do, and those three are up to no good. Why would I stand back and watch Stella's ring be taken?" The other two hummed in agreement.

Bloom smiled, "Thanks you guys. I'm lucky to have you for friends this year."

[-M-]

"_Hello?"_

"Baltor?"

"_Bloom?_ Is everything alright?" She wanted to kick herself for not calling him sooner.

"We're fine; I've got some clues on who's after Stella's ring – actually, I met them in person," she said, kicking her pajama-clad legs up and staring at the ceiling.

"What happened?" He said. She could almost feel his gaze on her, and she shivered.

"Stella and I followed the ogre to an alley, where he met with three witches; Cloud Tower students." She heard him 'hmm', an invitation for her to go on, "They said something about needing the ring, and then one appeared from behind us and…removed us from our hiding spot – " – she heard him exhale sharply, and knew he'd caught the half-truth – " – and then it really looked like we were in trouble, but our roommates had been looking for us and they showed up…they can kick _ass.__"_

"I expect the chance for their winx to sharpen into something specific to them has shown up by now." This was not a very good explanation, though, as she still didn't understand why they were at such an advanced – well, compared to _her_ – level.

"Can you explain it a bit better?"

She heard a sigh, "Dangerous scenarios would've popped up at anytime with them, since they were on planets with a lot more magic than Earth. This triggered their first transformations – I expect their appearances changed? – and from then on, they could transform at will."

Bloom frowned, "But we've sparred plenty of times; wouldn't I have changed if that was the case?"

"It is my deepest honor to inform you that you have never felt in danger when we were sparring. Thus, no transformations."

"Well…" she paused to think back, "I guess not. I mean, I felt jittery, yeah, but not, like, afraid for my life."

"When you fought the ogre, you let loose a large amount of magical energy significant to you – that's how I found you. Your winx let me know where you were and that you were in danger," he explained.

"But how come it hasn't come out again, then? I didn't feel too safe in the alley," she said, trying to avoid saying how afraid she'd actually been.

"Stella was with you then; you didn't feel so dependent upon yourself." He paused, "Of course, this is all theory, and for all I know could be absolute crap. You might've just spontaneously lost all your power and become a normal human. Lord knows what will become of you tomorrow," he said with a smirk.

"I have half a mind to hunt you down and hit you for that," she replied.

"I'm going to continue monitoring your magic levels from Earth. If they rise high enough – if you transform – I'll come and back you up, alright?"

"How will you -?"

"D'you really think I could've kept track of you as a child _without_ magic?" he asked skeptically.

She pursed her lips, pissed at the breach of privacy.

"I'll know if you're in trouble, that's all," he said, sensing her displeasure.

She sighed, "Guess I can't argue against that. I _did_ get attacked by an ogre two days in a row."

She heard his smirk, "Knew you'd see it my way."

"Bloom? Honey, I don't mean to interrupt, but if we don't go to bed soon, we'll definitely be late for class tomorrow," Flora said, looking up from her issue of _TeenFairy_and smiling a little.

Bloom blushed, "I've gotta hang up; classes start tomorrow."

"Alright. Good luck. I love you."

"Love you." She hung up, then frowned.

"What's wrong?" Flora asked, seeing her expression.

"Forgot to ask him something. And it was pretty important, too," she said, thinking back to Faragonda's interest in where she came from.

"I'm sure you'll get a chance to talk to him again soon," said Flora with a knowing smile, and reached to turn off the light.

…

…

A/N: Er…is it even appropriate to ask anymore? Oh, well – _review!_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: "Oh my God – _this_ is high school's workload? No wonder suicide rates are climbing!"

…

…

The first day of classes was a breeze for Bloom – Baltor had taught her well. It was a relief to see that every one of her classes had at least one of her roommates in it, and a _very_ pleasant surprise to find that all of them shared lunch. (Though, apparently, this _shouldn't_ have been a surprise; Tecna said that the pamphlet they received in the mail had said that all students in the same year shared a lunch period. Bloom wasn't happy when she had to explain to Tecna that she hadn't read the pamphlet, or, indeed, _anything_ that the school sent her.)

As expected, another revelation was presented to her during lunch – Mrs. Faragonda stood up to inform all that there would be a dance the next night, that formal wear was required, and that the Red Fountain boys would be attending as well. This was followed up by a sharp warning from Griselda, dispelling any breeding thoughts of "Crush Potions" and "Love Spells".

Bloom gaped, "And we _have _to attend? Can't we just sit it out?" The idea of spending the evening surrounded by attractive boys wasn't appealing – she very much disliked them because she tended to crush on those whom she would, obviously, have to turn down. And for the love of God, if she got _one more_ 'look' from someone that wasn't allowed to do what was playing in his head, she would call the cops…or, at least, Griselda.

"Well, unless you've got a bad cold or something, I don't think it's encouraged," Tecna said, "This is the first opportunity for the teachers to see how you act, and they really want everyone where they can supervise them."

"And, worst comes to worst, you dance with us!" Flora said warmly, "I know you miss whoever it is that you're talking to on the phone."

Bloom blushed, "My boyfriend. I don't like talking to guys 'cause I feel kind of like I'm cheating when I do." She looked up with a grateful smile, "And dancing with you guys _definitely _isn't the worst-case scenario."

"Sounds like mental abuse if you ask me," said Musa, following up the uncouth statement with a loud sucking noise from her straw. Bloom gave her a skeptical smile and the girl shrugged, "Not my problem."

Stella ignored the awkward conversation and jumped ahead with her own question: "What are you going to wear?"

Bloom paled, staring in mock-horror at the blonde who had donned an evil expression and had started rubbing her palms together as if she was going to kidnap the Earth-fairy, "Dare I ask?"

"Come into my closet," – "Said the spider to the fly," Tecna whispered to Musa, who snorted and looked away when Stella's frightening grin landed on her – "I've got some clothes that will fit you."

Bloom couldn't resist grinning back.

[-M-]

"I like this, except…" Bloom stared at the torso of the dress – so obviously for someone with a thinner frame.

Stella bit her lip, "We can adjust it using magic, I guess," she said, "I just…have no clue how to do it." The dress was a deep indigo and stood out like a lighthouse on a stormy shore against her ember-red hair, but it seemed – and Stella agreed – that blue was her color, and nothing-less-than-perfect was what the first dance of the school year called for.

Flora gave a smile, "I can do it; I'm good at magicking fabrics."

"Yeah?" asked Stella.

"You'd have to be, to put together a dress like _that,"_ Musa gestured to Flora's attire. When Flora nervously fingered the fabric, Musa hurried to adjust her statement, "It's fresh, and, like, so _you."_

Flora smiled again in happy acceptance of the compliment and held her hands out for the slinky number that was to be Bloom's. After examining it, she held it out to the redhead again, "Could you put it on so that I can see what it looks like?"

"Sure," said Bloom, pulling the dress over her shirt and jeans, then removing both articles of clothing underneath, "Well?"

Flora gave an apologetic expression and placed her hands on Bloom's stomach, where they felt frighteningly cold for a few seconds. When she removed them, the dress fit like a glove.

"_Wow._ I know who I'm bringing on my next shopping trip!" Stella exclaimed.

"Actually, in Magix, it's illegal to adjust a garment before purchasing it," Tecna stated, placing one hand on her formal wear-clad hip, "I researched it online."

"Blech!" Stella made a spectacularly disgusted face, "That was the law in Solaria, too, until I campaigned against it with the rest of the tween-age population." The fairy fluffed her sun-gold locks in self-praise.

"Yeah?" Bloom asked, "Why? What was wrong before?"

"No-one should have to purchase something just to adjust it later and realize they don't like it even _if _it fits," the princess began, assuming a 'lecture' stance and beginning what promised to be a very long argument that Bloom assumed had won her the case, "Sometimes things just don't look good, and no-return policies are there for a reason. _So,_ I got together a list of signatures, held a few rallies and…" – she gave a sheepish smile – "Daddy promised to pull some strings if I stopped bugging him about it."

Musa rolled her eyes, "So what're you wearin', Stel'? We know what threads we'll be rockin'; how 'bout you?" ("Do people usually talk like that on her planet?" - "The online travel catalogue said that that was a stereotype." - "Guess not." - "I can hear you!")

Stella smiled sneakily, "I'll keep that a secret. But…" she paused, "My ring doesn't go with it. I'll have to leave it here."

"Hey, that's not so bad. It's just a dance – no reason to bring the Scepter, is there?"

"None at all. I just hate leaving it. Best accessory – it's multi-functional!" Stella grinned, then removed the ring and placed it into its seashell-resembling container and put it into her couch cushion-sized jewelry box. Once finished, she turned and clasped her hands, "Well, now that we're ready to go, we've gotta work on hair! Bloom, we are going to _curl_ that halfway-in-between mess of yours!" Musa giggled at Stella's rabid gaze, then flinched when the girl promised to do the same to her via eye-narrowing.

"No mercy for the unenthusiastic," sighed the redhead, removing the scrunchie that had held up her 'halfway-in-between mess'.

[-M-]

No-one escaped.

Even Flora, who had applied make-up before they had met together to assess that night's attire was forced to wash it off and allow Stella to tweeze, prime, paint and dust-on the perfect combination to turn the would-have-been dreamy and child-like appearance of hers into something that Stella called 'Dusty Rose'. Flora was a bit shocked at how sultry the girl staring back at her from the mirror was, but Stella threatened to chop off her curled-at-the-ends-just-so tresses - which must taken years to grow and countless hours of hair-care – if she so much as inched towards the sink.

Musa's red-and-purple ensemble was highlighted with contrasting violet eyeshadow and murder-red lips and, to her woe, the pigtails were removed, the hair straightened into normal formation and curled, and her nails were filed and painted. Tecna's hair was actually _trimmed_ into a spectacularly angular point, her face dusted with blush to define her cheekbones more, her eyes enhanced, and her lips painted dramatically. Bloom got away with curled hair, filed nails and some slight skin-colored make-up so that she didn't look too plain.

Stella's appearance was a secret, and was revealed to them five-or-so minutes before they left for the hall – golden hair was straightened and left loose, and eyes were painted to match a classic 'Stella' dress similar to what she had been wearing when they first met. Everyone gave a small round of applause at her appearance, remarking on her exceptional look as directed by Flora (who was the best at

giving compliments) and then they slowly made their way to the ballroom, where a crowd of people, mostly boys, had already gathered.

Bloom scowled at the group, softening slightly when she saw Stella happily in the arms of a tall, not-too-bad-looking, brown-haired, muscled (they were _all_ muscled; very few sported any sort of gangly figure) teenager who she assumed to be Sky. She turned to Tecna, "I think I'm gonna go and get a book – I've gotta have _something_ to do."

"Try not to get into any trouble," said the pink-haired girl with a sympathetic smile, her gaze turning wistful as she watched pairs twirl around the ballroom. Bloom felt her heart squeeze; it was pretty fortunate that she had someone to be intimate with. There was a lot of loneliness in just those few minutes of wall-flowery.

Shaking off similar thoughts, she walked to where she thought their dorm was. It only took ten minutes of walking to realize that she was, indeed, lost. In her own school. Wonderful. Just as she was about to turn back - "That is _not_ a shortcut, regardless of whether you saw it on the map – you'll only get yourself more lost." – she heard a scuffle and the clink of a doorknob being turned slowly, like the person doing it didn't want to get caught.

"Go straight ahead and make a right."

"_Please_ tell me I'm hearing voices now," Bloom muttered to herself, "If it's them, then…" She chose to break off instead, as the next voice – "Here they are; the Red Fountain gifts." – was unmistakeable in its chill.

The witches were inside the school.

Why?

She eased herself off the wall she'd been pressed against – quietly – and tip-toed after them, pressing close against another wall and peering into the room they'd entered, just in time to catch the brunette chanting a spell to find the ring of Solaria - _"When this spell is cast, show us the past…"_ – but rather than dwell on the saying, she watched the image the witch – Darcy – conjured up: Stella removing the ring and placing it into its case, just as she had done less than an hour ago.

"Not good. At all," she squeaked, pressing herself against the wall and preparing to bolt – They were chanting again! This time about…snake-rats? Not a creature _she'd _ever heard of. _'But I know who can tell me all about them,'_ she thought, releasing her vice-like grip on the decorative ridge along the wall and running as fast as she could back to the ball.

[-M-]

"_Tecna!"_ she gasped.

"Bloom! What happened?" she girl gaped at her bedraggled appearance.

"Where are the others?" Bloom looked around. She spotted Musa and Flora over by the punchbowl and Stella dancing (still). "Meet me in that hallway; I'll get Stella, you get those two," she pointed to the girls.

"But what's - ?" Tecna watched her run to the happy couple and shrugged, power-walking (as it seemed rather urgent) to the remainder of her dormmates and telling them Bloom had some news.

[-M-]

"_So,_ they're gonna mess up the presents with some snake-mouse-what's-its and steal Stella's ring?" Musa asked, trying to summarize the story Bloom had relayed.

"Yeah. What _are_ snake-rats, anyway?" asked the Earth-girl, turning to the resident technology expert.

Said expert spread her fingers and allowed a light to shine upward, displaying a pointy-nosed, crocodile-looking thing, along with some impossible-to-understand characters, "Swamp creatures. Their saliva contains a powerful allergen that is effective against all magical creatures and deadly to non-magical ones. They cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever and red sores." Tecna read. Flora looked queasy, and was desperately glancing around to get her mind off the topic.

Stella shrugged, "Big deal. We just kick butt like last time."

"But if the teachers catch us we could get in big trouble. We had a fight in Magix, remember?" Tecna asked, "Is there any way to fix this in secret?"

"Easy," Everyone turned to Flora, "We counter-spell them."

Stella smirked, "Join hands, girls." Thankful she knew enough about magic to do this, Bloom did as she was told, channeling her winx to fuel the circle's energies and help charge the spell, letting the other's will direct what she could offer. A buzz of sparkles appeared in the center and flew up and out, towards the chest that contained Red Fountain's gifts.

"Whoa. That killed," said Musa. Bloom couldn't help but agree, and did her best not to slump in exhaustion when she saw Sky heading over with an egg in his hand for Stella.

"Oh. Cute," Stella said (Bloom praised her for giving a passable fake smile; she felt like morphing her face muscles into any sort of expression would make her keel over), "An enchanted little egg."

"Gimme that," said Musa, ignoring Sky's look of confusion. "Flora – did you happen to read the latest issue of _TeenFairy_?"

"Yeah. Wh - ?" the girl's expression became mischevious, _"Oh._ Yeah, I know that spell. I practiced it a few times, even."

"Excellent. I read it, but didn't exactly get it right, so…" she passed the egg to the caramel-skinned girl.

"_Enshmorandurabu,"_ murmured the fairy, holding her hand over the egg for a few moments before it disappeared. Bloom supposed it was a protection spell, and decided not to ask.

"Well, that settles that!" said Stella, stretching and taking Sky's hand, "Dance with me?"

"You guys go ahead," Bloom said to the inviting stares of her roommates, "I'm gonna go back to the room and get that book."

[-M-]

"That was exhausting," Bloom said to herself, crashing on the bed and staring up at the rosy pastel color of her ceiling, "But it seemed like everyone else got over it pretty quickly. I guess it's 'cause they've been doing magic a lot longer."

She sat up, "I've gotta find some way to practice more; classes are going to get way trickier and if this block stays here, then I'll be useless." She flopped back onto the cool sheet, contemplating staying there and claiming she fell asleep when a shadow moving across the wall caught her eye. She turned, seeing Stella's jewelry box floating speedily out of the room.

"…_Fuck."_

[-M-]

"Right," she said to herself, running outside after it and trying desperately not to trip while wearing a pair of Stella's strappy heels, "The 'Introduction to Magic' book said that a spell can be channeled through words alone of there's a rhyme and power behind it," she huffed, outstretching her arms and reaching towards the possessed box, trying to gather the energy to cast the first spell she could think of:

"_One, two, three – come back, ring!_

"_Four, five, six – stop that thing!"_

The box _did_ stop – it shook, cracked open and fell onto the dirty ground – and the ring, still-in-seashell-case kept flying fast towards whomever had – oh, who was she kidding? The _witches_.

She groaned and shut her eyes at the failure – then tripped with the aid of a pearl necklace. _"Shit! Damn it!"_ Gritting her teeth at her smarting palms, she got back up, ignoring protesting limbs and continued running after the case. "For the love – of – _gotcha!"_ She jumped and caught the thing, landing painfully on her elbow and releasing a long sigh. For a moment, she just stayed there, on the ground, but she had to get up and begin walking back (hopefully the 'Cloud Tower _seniors'_ weren't nearby).

[-M-]

She knew they were behind her when the first one's heels hit the ground, but she hoped – _prayed – _it was just her imagination. She didn't stop, only freezing when the deep tones of the curly-haired witch reached her – "Hey! Get back here! You have to stick your skinny nose into everyone else's business, don't you?" – and gripping the ring's case.

"Yeah, that's right," she muttered to herself, "'Cause _you're_ such great role-models."

She turned – just in time to see the ponytailed witch gather her magic and direct it at the ground around her, _**"Ice Bracelet!"**_Feeling the ground beneath her lose friction, she gathered as much spring into her legs as possible and jumped, landing clumsily, but luckily safely, outside the slippery ring. She looked to see Ms. Dark-and-Dreary do an amazing stomp of her foot – _**"Heel of Oblivion!"**_ – and watched, horrified as the ground split around her, isolating her.

"Damn, damned, damnable…" she muttered, eyes darting back and forth in search of steady footing. An inhuman roar alerted her to the oncoming attack by the last of the three: _**"Twister!"**_ A wind picked up, pushing her over to the edge created by the second attack.

She grabbed blindly, just barely hanging on to the edge, and watched as the tallest walked over calmly and picked up the ring case from its place on the ground. "You can't transform," remarked the witch, "That's twice now that you've come up against us and you haven't attacked. Which means," she stepped elegantly onto Bloom's hand, "You're useless. Even as an enemy." With a last vicious stomp on the hand that was, miraculously, stubbornly clinging on, she kicked it off of the precipice and cackled. Bloom felt fear grip her as she stared up at the triumphant senior.

A frantic fluttering began behind her breastbone and she felt panicked, _terrified,_ as she fell. A white light started at the corner of her eyes and spread, dominating her field of vision until she could see nothing but light, then…_euphoria._ There was no pain; she was being guided through motions by unseen, strong, long-fingered hands – Baltor's hands. She felt a warmth spread throughout, a stretching sensation at her back, a snug cinch at her bust and hips, as well as at her ankles and forearms. A light weight attached itself to her hair in front, like a clip, and then she was being guided again. Baltor brought her arms up over her head then down, like they were dancing. She felt a slight pressure at her lips, and then…

She was flying, bringing herself out of the pit created by Darcy, and then staring down at them all from her height. Baltor was no-where to be found.

She smirked, leaving the thought of him alone for a second and focusing on the situation at hand, feeling completely refreshed and ready for battle. "You're right. But now it's a fair fight."

[-M-]

"_Did you feel it?"_

"_I did. I felt them both. Dark and Light."_

"_The Dragon Fire is on school grounds."_

…

…

A/N: I was so gonna go on, but I wrote that line and thought, 'I think that's a good place to leave it. I've got Samurai Champloo fics to work on.'

Bloom felt Baltor in her transformation only. He's not actually there – yet. I'll explain it more in the story. And I promise that I'll move away from the original plotline soon – I'm setting down what we have to work with so far, and plan to move away starting with the next chapter, though I'm trying to stay away from OCs – they ruin all my stories (which means you already know who says the italicized words…).

Please review. It's Christmas, after all. *hopeful smile*


	7. Chapter 7

"What a load of bullshit! You couldn't 'fight fairly' with us if you got your Enchantix!" shouted the thundercloud-haired witch, pointing a clawed finger at Bloom and launching a heavily-charged lightning bolt to knock her out of the air. The first she dodged. The second…not so much. Falling when you have the power of flight is something utterly humiliating (not to mention terrifying and power-zapping). She hit the ground with an audible _'Oomph!'_ but got up and faced them again, somehow not feeling the pain.

The blue-clad one laughed loudly and turned to the brunette, "Darcy! _Perceptus Disorientus!" _The other opponent complied, touching the tips of her fingers to her temples, she let out several visible waves of energy, the source being her eyes. Bloom literally froze, her mind blanking as if someone had knocked her unconscious – but she could still see her surroundings, though they were severely distorted and bore little resemblance to their real selves. Even the ground had begun dragging itself out from under her!

She'd been through something like this back on Earth. At one of the state fairs she'd been to, there was a room that contained a bridge with railings and a tunnel with spinning walls. The whole thing made you lose your balance as the most prominent factor pertaining to your balance was your eyesight. The bridge and the railings helped because they were stable, as opposed to the tunnel walls, which moved and took the designs on their expanse with them so you couldn't pin one location. However, theoretically, if a person observed the wall from a still position, they could probably hit any one spot, same as a moving target. What she needed was a place that wasn't any more different in one area than another – the sky!

Effortlessly, she flew up, until she might've been eye-level with some of the trees in the forest. Surer now that her 'footing' was stable, she focused on the parts of the blurred witches down on the ground that weren't moving – those would guarantee a hit. Taking aim, she summoned a fireball, pleased to find that it was four times bigger and now didn't hurt, unlike her usual ones, and threw it as hard as she could down at the spot. A shout and restored vision had her grinning. She could do this!

"Aww, _cute,"_ sneered the tallest, "You think that proves that you can take us. I beg to differ! _**Frozen Prison!"**_ Bloom watched, a little afraid as the witch planted both high-heeled feet firmly onto the distressed lawn and extended her hands toward the sky, her figure eerily morphing into that of a vertically-stretched snowflake and the temperature dropping low enough to create fog around the three Cloud Tower students, and, interestingly enough, snow materialized and started falling (though Bloom had no idea how the condensation appeared, as there were no clouds above them). Then, finally, the actual effect of the invoke-ment presented itself – enormous ice crystals shot up out of the ground. Too fast for Bloom to dodge.

The first nailed her in the elbow, grinding, hard and cold, into the bone. She'd barely consciously kicked herself away from the thing when a second hit her knee, throwing her onto the side (not the point, thankfully) of a third. She shivered at the close proximity of what very well might've been _dry_ ice (as in, frost-bite-and-lost-limbs _dry_ ice). Amazingly, she still couldn't feel the pain - neither from the first, nor second, nor third crystals! She hovered near the last overgrown spear, hoping to regain her breath when the next attack's name – _**"Arctic Blast!"**_ – came from behind her. Confused, she turned to see a very accurate portrayal of the glacial witch announcing the strike and then releasing a torrent of freezing-cold fluid, knocking Bloom to the ground.

"I'll take it from here."

That voice! She stared up at Baltor, who smiled down at her over his shoulder briefly before returning the perplexed gazes of the witches.

"Who's he?" squawked the weather-wielding one, crossing her arms in defiance, while the other two observed the new opponent silently.

"I assume you are the ones who sent the ogre," Baltor said to them.

"What's it to you?" called the ponytailed witch, who Bloom could now safely guess was the leader.

Ignoring her question, Baltor replied, "I'd hurry back to wherever you came from – Faragonda's on her way here and if the battle that just occurred is enough to go by, you're no-where near strong enough to face her yet."

"And you'd know how strong she is?" the mini-skirt-donned witch baited.

Baltor smirked enticingly, "Yes." Without further comment, he picked Bloom up off her place on the ground and teleported away from the scene.

[-M-]

"You can put me down; I'm fine," said Bloom.

They were in the woods that surrounded the schools, and Baltor was carrying her gently, though she had no clue where. They were close to Cloud Tower, Bloom realized – the trees' sinister shadows wouldn't have appeared so near her school, and the scuffling sounds of many-legged beasties that she assumed were pets of the witches' run wild clued her in to their general location. Baltor had grown quiet since the battle, answering her inquiries with "Hn,"s and murmured agreements. Ordinarily, Bloom would've guessed that he was upset she'd been in danger, but some inkling – probably a sixth sense granted by the transformation – told her it was something else.

"No, you're not. The transformation messes with your brain's 'limiter' – you have access to boundless endurance, your gauging of your own exhaustion is skewed and, most importantly, you cannot feel pain." Baltor said – strangely enough, his tone was the same some people used when talking about homophobia or slavery.

Bloom's brows furrowed, confused at his suppressed anger, "'Kay, I get that the second one's debatable, but aren't the first and last _good_ things?"

Baltor didn't reply, stopping suddenly in front of a tree and lowering her to the ground. A light appeared in his palm and levitated to hover over their heads so he could see what he was doing. Bloom moved to sit up but he shook his head, explaining, "Imagine you broke your wrist during a spar and couldn't tell. You'd just keep using it until all the little bone fragments had pierced every capillary there and your hand lost circulation," he spread his hands and concentrated lightly; a metal tray appeared and rested on his palms before he set it down and created a sleeping mat in the same way. "I saw part of the fight and I'm worried you hurt your elbow," he said while spreading the mat and moving her onto it cautiously.

Bloom looked at it carefully, "It's not even bleeding."

"It will once the wings are gone. And it will hurt."

"Lots?" she squeaked, remembering how the ice crystal had looked grinding into her joint.

"Lots." Baltor said grimly.

Her mind raced, recalling everything that had happened to her during the skirmish, "I fell, too. And one of the crystals hit my knee."

"Not to mention the fact that the cold was probably enough to freeze you solid if you'd stayed in one place too long," Baltor added, pulling various things like bandages, a needle and thread, some vials with unidentifiable substances inside, tweezers and other medical supplies out of his coat and putting them onto the tray.

"That's…" she stared in horror at the implements, putting two and two together, "I have to transform back?"

"If you don't, you'll pass out from blood loss or something similar," he said.

"I'm not bleeding!" she cried, threatening hysterics. It would hurt beyond reason – she'd also fired her usual burning energy at the witches, and it hadn't ever before left her with un-blistered hands, "I thought we were going to wait until it…went away, or something."

"_Bloom,"_ Baltor said, fixing her with a steady gaze, "Do you remember your first bike accident?"

"Yeah," she responded, thinking back to when her tire had caught in a sewer grate and she'd toppled over, bike and all.

"You didn't cry when you got the stitches then. Are you telling me you were braver as a _five-year-old_ than an eighteen-year-old?"

She gaped, "That's not the point!"

"_The point is,"_ Baltor stated, "You can do it now or we can wait until your body is unable to uphold the transformation and you become not only drained of energy but also possibly arm-less because we didn't fix it in time." She swallowed and nodded, feeling like a child. He lifted a clean cloth, "Change back." Bloom breathed in, closed her eyes and found what seemed to be the 'switch' for the transformation. She nudged it lightly and gasped at the _excruciating_ sensation originating from her arm, another coming from her knee, and several others coming up all over her body. Then she blacked out.

[-M-]

She opened her eyes unwillingly, the stiff feel of a cast encompassing her left arm telling her that Baltor had finished with that part of her battered self, and an annoyingly painful tugging and piercing sensation at her knee told her he was fixing up that particular wound right now.

"I passed out?" she ventured.

"From the pain, yes." Baltor replied, "Your face was somewhat comical."

"That's nice of you to say," she responded, narrowing her eyes at him, then shifting to look at her arm. "Was it broken?"

"Almost. Fractured, actually. And bleeding everywhere. You'll need to return to the school as quickly as possible. I'm only going to finish stitching your knee and then I will teleport you back to the building." He wrapped the joint tightly and looked at her, "Bloom. It is vital that you do not tell anyone that I was here, or that I cared for you on Earth."

"That reminds me – on the first day, the headmistress called me in and told me she was curious about how I found out about Alfea, since apparently no-one signed me up," she said, gritting her teeth against the feel of the needle piercing her already raw skin, "She said something about how the planet hasn't had any magical creatures in a long, _long_ time." She eyed his face, noting how frustrated he seemed now.

"It's true; we came from a different planet," he said, slowly, like he was concentrating on not giving too much away.

"So why'd we move? And how'd you end up caring for me, anyway?" she said, looking at him more intently now, aware of his flinch at the last question.

"I can't answer that right now," He snipped the thread he'd used to sew her knee back together and began cleaning it with alcohol, or something similar (what did it matter? It _stung_ like hell), not meeting her eyes, "Because I don't want to lie to you. My side of the story is the side that isn't really favored, so it would be best for me to withhold information at the moment to buy time and figure out how to phrase what you want to hear."

"You…did something bad?" Bloom raised an eyebrow, "Um, I don't think the dramatics are necessary – if it's something illegal, I really don't care. You taught me how to _steal_ when I was little, and it's not like _I'm_ the epitome of innocence, either."

"This is worse than that," he tightened a bandage around her joint and tied it firmly. "I really don't think you'll understand why I did it, particularly because _you_ are very involved in the whole thing."

"So…shouldn't I be privy to all the juicy details?"

Baltor gave a tired smile, "Not yet." He took her hand and pulled her off the ground, "But I _will_ share this: there's more than one part that connects you and me, and the bit that you might be happy to know revolves around something called the Dragon Fire."

"Sounds like something from a video game," she responded, scrutinizing his face for more hints.

He laughed, "Maybe. Just keep it in mind while you're doing all that research on Stella's ring. It helps to know _why_ your enemies are after something."

"Oh, so _I'm_ going to be doing all the research?" she put her hands on her hips, attempting to stand on her injured leg.

"Anything I know is either off-limits to you or in that library," he nodded his head in the direction of her school.

"Speaking of," she looked at her bandages and cast, "How am I gonna explain this?"

"One of the variations of the 'Doctor' spell does something like this. It also drains energy beyond belief to create the medical supplies and treat the caster, which could explain your exhaustion after your _very secret _battle," he said, stressing the words, "But it's complicated as well, and they might not believe you performed it yourself," he mused.

"Why'd you do it by hand, then?" Bloom asked.

Baltor smiled, "I like taking care of you." He reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "…Keep that in mind if Faragonda decides to spill my secrets."

[-M-]

Bloom eased herself inside the window of the room she and Flora shared, "Thanks," she whispered back to Baltor, who nodded in response.

"If you need to contact me, I'll be at hom – !" She grinned into the kiss and let go of his shirt, pleasantly surprised when he deepened it instead of pulling away like she thought he would. A second later, though, he broke them apart, _"Try_ to be careful – I'm not sure how often I can appear here without someone becoming suspicious."

"I will, don't worry."

"That's like asking me not to breathe."

She thumped his shoulder, eliciting a faux "Ow," and closed the window. They stared at each other for a minute or so before he transported himself away. Sighing, she turned to the dark room, expecting to have to stumble around trying not to wake Flora when the light switched on. There stood her roommate, hands on hips, the other three girls behind her, looking equally worried as well as pissed.

"Where _have_ you been?"

…

…

A/N: I'll update sooner next time, and attempt to cough up more than a crappy filler chapter – but at least I introduced some semblance of plot.

Now Bloom has her first hint (pathetic as it is, considering what Baltor did). As for an explanation for why Bloom didn't press harder for the info – she grew up with Baltor, and this led to the knowledge that, with some people, the harder you press, the less they want to tell you. (Not that it wouldn't've been the opposite with him, but she doesn't know that.) _And_ she gets that he'll tell her eventually, so there.

Review, and don't hold back complaints.


	8. Chapter 8

The rest that Bloom had been eagerly awaiting as Baltor had flown the two of them up to her window was not allowed. Perhaps, if the girls had grown up with men as love interests, rather than boys in their age-range, they would have realized the importance of sleep. After having exclaimed appropriately over her injuries, the four girls had pulled her onto the couch in the room that connected the three they slept in and grilled her thoroughly for details, not sparing her any irritation over her disappearance and hot-headedness (though she assured them that she _hadn't_ been looking for a fight).

"You didn't have to do that, stupid! You _saw_ Flora cast the spell on the ring, didn't you?" Stella fumed, throwing her arms up dramatically, "They wouldn't have gotten it even _if_ you'd ignored the damn thing."

"The result was nothing but bodily harm and a long explanation to Griselda later," Tecna added, crossing her arms in annoyance, "If you cannot tell, I am fairly poor at convincing others of my emotions, so lying about a fall will be difficult and I wish you had considered that."

"Uh, actually, I didn't know that you ended up with injuries like this after battle. I didn't even feel it while we were fighting," Bloom said, cheeks heating at Tecna's logic, "And you can hardly expect me to consider things like that when I'm battling three senior witches."

"Didn't ya already know?" Musa asked, with a perplexed expression on her face, "I thought since you signed up here you'd get what happens when the wings come on."

"Well, I guess I should've, but it never really came up," Bloom replied, brows coming together in bemusement. Why _hadn't_ Baltor brought it up? "It's weird – when he was telling me about it, he acted like it was this monstrous thing, but if he felt strongly about it, you'd think he would've mentioned it before."

"It's really dangerous to fight opponents who you can't handle; you can't be sure how your body's taking it." Flora said, summing up what Baltor had explained.

"And _now_ my jewelry's outside…on the ground…" Stella clutched her arms in horror, eyes widening, "It'll be dented – damaged beyond repair! Some of those things are irreplaceable! They're _couture!_ Made by the best especially for me and they're out there in the cold…all alone…"

"Chillax. We'll get your bling in the morning; we can't go out when it's this late." Musa stretched and put her toe-socked feet on the coffee table, "'Sides, if Bloom hadn't gone after it, we wouldn't know where it was."

"I'm surprised the ball's over already," Bloom said, looking away from the tomboy and facing the computer whiz, "You'd think it would end later."

"They called it to a halt almost right after you left because there was an _emergency _on school grounds," Tecna said, raising an eyebrow at Bloom.

"Really? How come we weren't found out?"

"I thought you were," Flora said with a worried expression, "They sent us all to bed and apologized about it being canceled. When you weren't here, I thought the witches had gotten you."

"It's nice of you to worry for me," Bloom said with a smile.

"Bloom, the whole point of not snitching on the witches to Griselda is so we can get back at them. You've gotta _tell_ us when they show up," Musa said, eyeing the cast and bandages, "'Cause from the looks of it, you ain't so great at the whole fighting thing."

"Hey!" She had spent nearly the entirety of her life sparring with a full-grown wizard (granted, he'd gone easy on her, but _still_). She was _not_ weak.

"I'm not sayin' you can't defend yourself – you're _alive,_ aren't ya? But if your boyfriend hadn't been there, you'd be - "

"_Okay! _Fine! Let's not go into details about my supposed grisly death," Bloom huffed.

"I don't think you get it, Bloom," Stella said, tone far from the frantic one she'd been using up until then, "Cloud Tower witches aren't taught to do that – those that make a 'career' out of it scare children at night and steal things like library cards to bug people. Fighting is _illegal;_ they've got huge prisons and centers set up to keep people like that down. Those witches are the kind that end up becoming mass-murderers."

"Dark magic is the only thing that brings people to that level, besides insanity," Tecna said, "And to get to that level of aggression, you have to be around immense amounts of it _and_ have enough ambition to control it."

"So they're looking to use Stella's ring for something big," Bloom decided, "Not just to get the power of Solaria on their side, but something really, really bad."

"But _what?_ My ring wasn't made for anything like that. I mean, it was made out of _starlight, _for God's sake – that's the purest form of magic there is." Stella said, putting her hands on her hips and trying to recall other information.

"That would make it powerful," Flora began.

"But not immune," finished Musa. "Anything can be changed if you fill it with enough of the right magic."

"If something's changed from light to dark it's really hard to get it back," Stella said, fingering her ring worriedly.

"And if the witches want it for its power…" Tecna trailed off.

Bloom stood up, ignoring the pain in her knee, "Then we've gotta take 'em out fast."

[-M-]

"Bloom? My goodness, what happened?" Faragonda covered her mouth in shock at the red-head's appearance.

The fairy was in the library, studying as much as she could about the Dragon Fire that Baltor had revealed to her. So far, she'd had little-to-no luck; the only thing she could find was a stingy sentient book that told her nothing but a myth about how a legendary creature called the Great Dragon had created the universe. At the moment, she was trying her hand at changing its mind with a few words of praise, but it stubbornly refused to tell her more.

"Oh, just a fall," she answered, smiling convincingly and shrugging like it was her usual clumsiness.

"Is that…" the headmistress' eyes widened, "My dear, that book belongs in the restricted vault! How did you come across it?"

"Oh, you mean the books behind the gate with the big lock aren't there for student use? My bad." She gave a sheepish smile, relieved when Faragonda gave her a raised eyebrow but didn't press farther.

"That book won't yield to any kind words," the older fairy said, crossing her arms, "I know; I've tried," she added with a wink.

"So you know how to get it to tell me more?" On the table, the book gave an offended quiver and rapidly shut, much to Bloom's annoyance.

"I doubt it will share any more than it has already," Faragonda said, glancing at its tightly shut state, "But tell me, what were you looking for in the vault in the first place?"

"I was trying to find out more about how the magical dimension was created." Well, why not? Better than telling the headmistress Baltor had indirectly set her up to it.

"Is that all? There's a bit more to the myth than that, then," Faragonda said, face giving nothing away, "Most things are created from the aftermath of something large – there was an enormous solar explosion, and the resulting starlight came together to form an enchanted dragon. She breathed a life-giving flame over the world, and soon plants and life-forms began gaining magical abilities, eventually evolving into what we know today."

"That's a great story," Bloom beamed, "Is it real?"

"Many scholars believe so. The likelihood of creatures developing magic themselves is very small, and ancient pottery on one planet depicts a God-like creature with a form similar to the dragon's." Faragonda adjusted her glasses.

Bloom's curiosity piqued, "What planet is that?"

"Sparx. Quite a tragic history – and a very recent one, too. No-one is quite sure what happened to it exactly, but all the evidence found pointed to a terrorist group attacking and destroying the civilization there."

"That's awful." Ka-_ching!_ Possible homes she and Baltor had to escape: suspect number one – dead planet Sparx. "Did anyone escape?"

"We are unsure. All records were destroyed along with the palace library." – _'We?'_ As in, the headmistress knows way more about what happened than she is letting on 'we'? – "However, most planets have a barrier that immediately goes up during wars to prevent outsiders from interfering and enemies from escaping. This barrier is currently up and running on the planet, but all communication stopped nearly twenty years ago. From space, the planet looks like a new ice age has started. All inhabitants are assumed dead."

'_And we're back to square one,'_ thought Bloom. "How do you know so much about it?"

"I am in-the-know about most things that happen around the world due to an ingenious creation: the morning paper." Faragonda smiled at Bloom's blush, "I believe free period is almost over. Please come to me if you have any more questions; I am always happy to help."

"Will do," the teenager smiled, waving cheerily, then turning back to the book on the table.

"What," she asked it, "Is the point of a book that doesn't even let you _read_ it?" It didn't respond, and she heaved sigh before pulling another, lighter book towards her. Looking over the table of contents, she froze.

_Chapter Ten – Starlight Jewelry; The Relationship Between the Solaria Ring and the Great Dragon._

[-M-]

"Look! Look at this! Right here!" she shouted, pushing the book into Stella's face.

"Um, move it a bit farther away and maybe I'll be able to," replied the princess. After a moment, she whispered back, "Oh, _wow."_

"This could be the reason for wanting your ring!" Bloom hissed, trying not to draw the attention of surrounding girls, as they were in the dining hall, "It has hidden powers that can be used to access some ancient magic!"

Tecna leaned over, "It says here that that has never been proven," she looked up at Bloom, as if daring her to keep putting value on something that was less-than-fact.

"_Yeah,_ probably because Stella's family didn't want to do anything bad to it using dark magic! I'm betting there are all sorts of power-raising spells and stuff to bring it out that _aren't_ going to keep the ring's purity the same."

"You say purity like it's a twelve-year-old girl," Musa said, coming up behind Bloom with a tray of mac & cheese, "What, are they going to _deflower_ it?"

"_Ew!"_ shrieked Stella.

"Don't be gross," chided Flora. Then she turned to Tecna, "And proven or not, it's still a possibility. If _this_ is why the witches want it, then it's even more important to set them straight."

"What's the Great Dragon, anyway?" Musa asked, scanning the text.

"It's like this thing that created the magical universe. I talked to Faragonda about it." Bloom said.

"And?"

"She basically gave me this story about how the dragon created the world. But apparently, it's the best shot we have at the truth, so most people believe that's how we got our magic."

"_I've_ never heard of it," Tecna said, frowning.

"It's kinda religious," Flora said, "I don't know if your planet would've covered it in school."

"I suppose we wouldn't have," Tecna said, looking frustrated over the fact that her education missed something that was becoming important now.

Bloom sighed and shut the book, stomach growling for the food that everyone had on their plates. She reached out and snagged a nacho from Stella's taco salad, "I can't remember what I was expecting when I heard I was coming here, but it wasn't this."

"Ditto," said Musa, "It's like we just got into something that's way bigger than it should be."

"I know I shouldn't be happy, but I kinda am," Flora said, "Think about it – what we're doing is for the greater good."

"The greater good should come with an 'Easy' setting," Tecna said, finishing her soup and standing up. "I'm going to go send some e-mails. An acquaintance of mine has access to a splendid database back on my planet. I wasn't allowed in because it's 'Members Only,' but he should be able to get me what I need."

"And she means that in more ways than one," Musa snickered.

"Did I miss something?" Asked Bloom.

"Tecna met a boy at the dance," Flora said, "He's into a lot of the same stuff she is."

"They've been IM-ing back and forth all night," Musa said, "I have to use a sleeping mask!"

"Go Tecna!" said Bloom, "What's he like?"

"It doesn't matter!" the bright-red Tecna exclaimed.

"You know, if you keep staying up like that, you'll get eye bags," Stella sang, "I could show you some great color combinations that would work well with your skin."

"Oh, shut up, all of you!" the technology expert moaned, though her mouth was beginning to quirk up at the sides.

"Tecna and Timmy, sitting in tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Bloom laughed, making a heart with her hands.

"You're horrible, the lot of you!" Tecna said, now sporting a full grin and not even attempting to hide it, _"I'm_ going to go do some _research_._"_ She picked up her tray, "I hope you _try_ to do the same. It seems to me that _Bloom's_ the only one doing something to help the cause."

"That's _so_ a lie," Stella said, raising Flora's hand so her nails could be seen, "Look – de-stressing manicure, to help with the pressures of fighting evil." Flora blushed.

"Yeah, and I've been writing some _kicking_ songs about us. You know, to help with the motivation."

"You bunch of slackers," Bloom said, holding back a grin.

[-M-]

"Have you found out anything about the Dragon Fire yet?" Baltor asked her.

"Nothing substantial, just a legend about the creation of the universe," Bloom answered, cursing under her breath when her hand slipped and she painted the skin to the side of her toenail a raspberry color, "And it's very frustrating when I know you have all the answers."

"Not all of them," he replied, sounding very somber.

"Oh, _right,_ because of the 'dark deed' that I'll never forgive you for," she said, wiping the paint off with her finger and glaring at it, "Anyway, while I was reading, I found a passage with information about Stella's ring. It turns out, it's made of the same stuff as the Great Dragon."

"Which would mean it is, in its own right, a very powerful magical artifact."

"Right. We think the ring has a hidden power that the witches are trying to get at."

"Wouldn't Solaria's royalty already have discovered it if that was the case?"

Bloom sighed, "We think not – if the means of finding the power _taint_ the ring itself, then - "

"The only people willing to try would be the same ones willing to use the power for evil." Baltor's sigh mirrored hers, "I cannot _believe_ I let you go there. I could've trained you just fine _here."_

"Yeah, well…" Bloom glanced around for the nail polish remover, locating the bottle and opening it, then wrinkling her nose at the smell. She balanced the phone precariously between her ear and her shoulder while she dabbed the moist mouth of the bottle with a cotton swab. Doing this with a cast was not easy.

"What was that? You're _enjoying_ it over there, now?" Baltor's smile was evident in his tone.

She gave a small smile herself, "Maybe. It's nice being around people my age."

He coughed in surprise, "I am offended! Are you saying that I am _old?"_

Bloom snickered, _"You?_ Young as a widow!"

He chuckled in response. She heard the pages of a book turning.

She sighed, "How much longer 'til we see each other again?"

"Considering your accident-prone self? Probably not too long." She heard him shift, "Although, I've been keeping tabs on the witches via crystal ball and they seem to be lying low. I think their stunt on Alfea grounds was noticed by Griselda."

"How do you know all the teachers? I can't even keep Whizgiz' name in my head for five minutes before forgetting it."

"It has to do with my secret."

"_That's_ going to get annoying fast."

"Then I suggest you keep studying."

"If you don't want me to find out, then why do you keep encouraging me to study?" Bloom asked, puzzled.

"It gives me time to think about how to explain."

"So I'm never going to find out about it by researching?"

"Nope. Not unless those books have changed their minds about sweet-talking."

"_Urgh._ I'm annoyed with you."

"Go to sleep. It's a school night."

She snorted, "Fine."

"Love you."

"Love you. Bye." She hung up, and glared and the ceiling.

Everything seemed to be a lot more complicated than it should be.

…

…

A/N: Why not tell the teachers if the Trix are _so_ evil? Well, it has to do with my plot… I will definitely answer questions, though, so don't be shy about asking.

Review, please!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: In which Sky finally makes an appearance and the readers all get a little frustrated with my meddling about with the original plot.

…

…

With the first few days out of the way, the real lessons began. The first week had been a joke – the amount of homework they received now was hellish. Many freshmen could be seen attempting to charm their bags into flying behind them because of the weight, losing concentration, and leaving their things on the ground for people to trip on without noticing. Bloom, who was used to carrying her things due to having attended school on Earth, did not try to do this (though, in actuality, it was more because she didn't want to get embarrassed by leaving her stuff on the ground) and instead spelled a backpack to reduce the weight of everything inside by half after seeing Flora do the same. The first month-and-a-half was quickly passing her by.

It was apparent that the five of them were steadily growing closer. Friends weren't an entirely foreign concept to Bloom – she knew people from all over the country, back where she came from, because of how often they moved. But in elementary school every friendship was superficial, in middle school she was completely preoccupied with her crush on Baltor and high school was full of people like Mitzy, who peeved her beyond belief (she assumed this was because any close friends she could've had were lost in-between middle and high school, and at the time she had just grabbed on to whatever driftwood she could find to stay afloat in the social current). This experience was phenomenal – especially concerning how much she genuinely _cared_ about each of them; truthfully, Baltor had been the only person she'd been in any sort of non-abrasive relationship with, and having people around her whom she enjoyed being with besides him felt liberating.

Nonetheless, she found herself missing him sorely – communication was always a late-night phone call which, as thankful as she was to have, wasn't quite the same as being able to speak to him in person, or to have physical contact. Slowly, she found herself growing annoyed with their conversations. It was easy to talk when the two of them were together, but having different experiences (such as the hair-curling midterms to prepare for) and no tangible way of _showing_ how much she missed him was getting on her nerves. Hormones were beyond annoying; she found herself gazing for prolonged amounts of time at male models in Stella's clothing catalogues and imagining scenarios where her and Baltor's make-out sessions became hotter than they had before. But Bloom, patience honed from over a month of sparring with Tecna in combat class, was not about to let these thoughts get the best of her. She would wait until the Day of the Rose. Absolutely.

[-M-]

The frustration – with herself, with the damned too-pretty boys adorning Musa's pop-culture magazines, with _Baltor_ for not sneaking on-campus and pulling her into a closet (he'd done it a few times, while she was in high school – an excellent de-stressor before exams) – was, merely by existing, starting to get on her nerves. Then Stella, 'brilliant' as she was, came up with an excellent plan to pull Bloom from her unidentified slump: she arranged a group date.

Since the entire thing had been planned for Bloom, she was having difficulty backing out. It didn't help that Stella, sensing her reluctance, assured her that no matter what she came up with, no-one would believe her ("Remember Bloom, you have at least one of us in _every_ one of your classes; we _know_ you've studied enough, we _know_ there was no homework assigned this week, and we _know_ you need this, so take off the sweatpants and _let me at your hair."_) She had been sent to the nurse by a teacher almost two days after the battle with the Cloud Tower students (who hadn't caused them any trouble in the meantime, despite their encounters with them two days in a row) where her elbow, knee and every other aching part of her body was healed and she was told not to run while taking the stairs anymore, so _that_ excuse was out the window.

"I don't _want_ to," Bloom whined, "And you're not making _Flora_ go."

"_Flora_ is meeting us for lunch," Stella said, in the exact tone that Baltor had used when explaining to her why she needed to eat her vegetables, "One of her plants had babies or something."

"_What?"_ Bloom abandoned all pretense of being huffy and stared at Stella like she'd just confessed to a foot fetish, "How is that even…?"

"_Not important!_ What we must pay attention to right now are _your jeans."_ Stella fingered the frayed bottoms of the pair that Bloom had pulled out of the closet, "I don't think so."

"Excuse me? What else do I have to wear?" Jeans, leggings, and a bathrobe were pretty much all of her choices for bottoms. All skirts she wore were Flora's – she'd left hers back home, to lessen the risk of spilling some irremovable magical substance on them.

Stella pulled a long, flowy skirt, a sweater and flats out of the closet. "We're putting your hair up, too."

"But I _hate _pins!" She threw up her arms and pouted, a gesture that surely would've earned her a stern look from Baltor (and his 'looks' made small children cry). Stella, however, just gave her an annoyed glare.

"Now you're just being immature."

"I'm desperate. I hate social gatherings with boys." Bloom scowled and took the clothes Stella was shaking in her face, dressing behind a decorative screen Flora had for that very purpose.

"In case you haven't noticed, they make up a significant part of the population," Stella responded, pulling Bloom into her room once the red-head was finished changing and sitting her down forcefully into the stool that was in front of the mirror Stella used to prepare her make-up every day. "Now stay still; I'd hate to be the cause of a split end, especially after we went through all that trouble with the hair-care potion that you botched the first time around."

Since she and Baltor hadn't had much practice with potions back on Earth (no ingredients), Bloom's worst class turned out to be the very one that Stella had oh-so-splendidly failed last year. Luckily, she ended up in a class with Flora-the-Botanist and was free to flit back and forth between her-and-Musa's table and Flo'-and-Stella's. Her best class was combat – and elective – where she and Tecna went all-out and Bloom usually got her ass handed to her due to infinite tactical errors.

"_You_ give _me_ split ends? That's a laugh; they run and hide whenever you're in their presence." This actually had some truth, but only because the blonde had pulled a hair-styling stunt during a class and cut off the brown-sugar-blonde locks of the girl in front of her – Amaryl – to a perm. Though the look suited the girl more than the ponytail she'd been sporting before, she now held a grudge against the Solaria princess and tried her hardest to get the group into trouble.

"Don't be ridiculous. Even _moi_ can't be perfect _all_ the time."

"No kidding," said Musa, entering and leaning uncomfortably against the door. Bloom noted that she had been blackmailed into a miniskirt and a strange tube-top-and-arm-warmer combo. The tomboy pulled down uncomfortably on the back of her skirt, grumbling to herself and shuffled her feet (which Stella had permitted her to wear converse on), "You're _insane."_

"What'd she do to you?" Bloom asked, snickering.

"My records are currently somewhere in the school. I am not allowed to know where."

"Ouch. Stella, that was cruel."

"Don't _move!"_

"_Ow!"_

Eventually, the three made their way down to the front gate, where Tecna waited for them, wearing simple well-worn jeans and a jacket that undoubtedly came out of Stella's closet. The weather was becoming more chilly in preparation for the winter season, though the suns shined as brightly as ever and the wind lacked the bite of autumn that Bloom was used to. They boarded a bus to Magix and chatted idly while waiting to arrive. Musa was trying to persuade Bloom to trade skirts, all-the-while trying to hide their conversation from Stella, who's eyes gleamed dangerously when she picked up bits and pieces of the topic.

Soon enough, they arrived at the city and made their way to a fountain that was the meeting place. Not two minutes after they got there, they were spotted by a group of guys who Bloom assumed to be the ones they were meant to hang out with (mostly because Sky was there and because Tecna was waving enthusiastically at a be-spectacled gangly boy with the same albino complexion she had). They came together awkwardly and started introducing themselves.

Sky was a head taller than Stella in heels, with brown hair and a healthy beach-boy skin tone. He was well-muscled but only enough that he looked fit – unlike Riven who, toned arms proudly displayed in a muscle shirt, was getting shy glances from Musa (Bloom assumed this was because the girl liked him and not because she wanted to scream, run and hide, which all sounded like excellent options to the red-head, who had only seen muscles like that on TV). Timmy was Tecna's beau, and looked every bit the computer geek she had pegged him to be for his association with Tecna. And last, there was the reason she hadn't wanted to come.

His name was Brandon and he looked almost exactly like one of the lead singers on Musa's CD covers. He had soft-looking blonde hair that came down messily to about mid-neck and blue eyes that twinkled kindly at her. His figure mirrored Sky's in height but he was a bit more towards the lean side rather than muscled, like he ran rather than lifted weights. Most appealing was his stance which was nervous but not hostile (see Riven) and kind of eager. Bloom stuttered out a 'hello' and blushed. His smile widened.

"Hey. I heard you're from Earth."

"Yeah."

"How'd you hear about Alfea?" He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her nicely to the rest of the group, who had all begun moving down the street, to a park.

"Oh, you know…" She shuffled her feet, "Um. Dreams." _Damn_ him. Even Faragonda hadn't been this inquisitive. They reached a glade in the recreational area and sat down, Musa taunting Riven over to her, Stella and Sky, much to the relief of the brown-haired jock, who looked nervous at the prospect of dealing with one of his girlfriend's dormmates without help from his own guy friend.

"Oh. You must have a psychic ability. That's cool." He smiled warmly; she thought achingly of Baltor.

"Thanks." One of these days, she was really gonna screw up with these guesses that she threw out there. Not wanting to sound rude, she continued the conversation, "So, where're you from?"

"Eraklyon. It's my second year at Red Fountain."

"Ah." The conversation was turning awkward; that was good. She didn't really want it to turn awkward; that was bad. Bloom glanced sideways at him and caught a stunning view of his jaw, more boyish than Baltor's and lacking the elegance that her boyfriend's appearance and manner exuded, but still strong enough that he could make any fairytale's princess feel safe. _'But I'm _not_ a princess, nor am I single…And for the love of God, stop _staring_ at him; he'll think there's something wrong with you! – But that might actually be a good thing; I tend not to want what I can't have.'_ With the small exception of a wizard whom she ended up with anyway.

She sighed and weaved the fingers of her hands together. Then, realizing that he was now talking to Timmy (Tecna looking a bit put-out at the fact that he'd started an actual conversation with someone else – maybe her crush wasn't as in-tune to a girl's feelings as Sky?) did a mental cheer. Now, all she had to do was look busy so that he wouldn't start talking to her again. She reached into the bag she'd brought with her and pulled out a magazine.

…And that was how her morning went. She kept her nose buried in Flora's copy of _TeenFairy,_ adding commentary when she could so as to not seem completely rude. To her great relief, Brandon kept his attention on Timmy and Tecna, probably labeling her bitchy and/or rude, but at that point, she didn't care so much. Besides, there was an article on magical hair-care and Stella did seem to regret having to give up time each morning to prep everyone else (because they were _not_ allowed to go out without the blonde fairy's permission. They tried, yes, but they were not successful).

Halfway through a conversation on weaponry (Tecna had given up getting Timmy's attention again and read with Bloom, the magazine balanced on their laps), a distinctly itchy feeling appeared under Bloom's skin. She shifted, frowning a bit and looked around, distracted from the article. And there, about six yards away, under a tree, stood Baltor, bedecked in a favorite shirt of his (and hers, since it was so easy to unbutton) and worn jeans. He smirked at her, tilting his head in an invitation to come over and she gave the publication to Tecna and threw an explanation over her shoulder as she scurried across the clearing to him.

"_Hi,"_ she breathed, eyes drinking him in. She wrapped her arms around his middle and pressed her face into his chest, excited to touch him after not seeing him for nearly a month.

"Hello," he chuckled, "I found something of yours…" He gestured upwards. Bloom followed his gaze and found Kiko frozen in place on a branch, terrified of falling off.

She frowned and pulled the traumatized bunny out of the tree, "You shouldn't do that; he'll freak."

"You haven't seen what he's done to your clothes."

She stopped petting the creature and glared, dropping it onto the hard ground, "He did _what?"_

Baltor smirked, "I mended them magically, but it's nice to see how much love you have for your pets."

Bloom watched the rabbit bolt away from her rapidly and glanced back at her friends, one of whom (Stella) gave her a thumbs up. "So, how come you're here?"

"I came to tell you that I'm going to be residing here for a while." His eyes scanned the collection of students she'd just abandoned and his hands moved from her arms to her waist, making her smirk a little to herself. She _definitely _wasn't single.

"Here in Magix? Why?" Within sneaking-off-campus distance?

"There were some issues with staying on Earth. For one thing, I need to keep an eye on you. For another, spell ingredients are looking to be a necessity more and more and I need a supplier," he said, face unreadable. She furrowed her brows at his expression, but let it go, picking Kiko up when he ran back to her, chattering like he'd just encountered one of the alley cats that, in truth, made _Bloom_ nervous with their hisses. Years of living off magical scraps had probably made them indestructible or something.

"Will you be able to visit more often, then?"

"I can't enter Alfea grounds. Faragonda is remarkably suited to be the school's headmistress; she is more in-tune to the building's magic than her predecessor."

Great. The conversation had again turned to that annoying little secret of his. Frankly, she wasn't entirely sure she cared to know anymore. If he was the only person who could tell her, then research was obviously a waste of time. "D'you think we could talk for more than a minute without _that_ being the subject?"

He looked at her, surprised, "You aren't interested?"

"Are you going to tell me anytime soon?" she asked, tone dangerously close to the 'you-aren't-getting-any' one she'd learned from TV comedies.

"Well, no, but - "

"Then stop dropping hints," she said decidedly, snuggling into his shirt again. She felt his arms wrap around her in the protective manner they did when she had nightmares as a child, "But why _can't_ you sneak on-campus?" T'was easier than sneaking off.

"The school is particularly aware of my – and your – energy."

"The Dragon Fire."

"Yes, that's right."

"What _is_ it?" She glared at his indecisive expression, "And don't you_ dare_ tell me to go research it. I am _not_ about to waste time in the library; I had to look in the restricted vault – Faragonda looked like she might've given me detention."

"It's a particular type of power," he said regretfully, gazing down at her and brushing his fingers through her ember-red hair, "It's noted for its indestructibility and purity – it can be used to summon virtually anything because it can connect to and stimulate whatever thread of magic the subject needs altered to be invoked."

"Why are you so…?" She traced the arch of his brow with a finger, biting her lip at the tense-ness in his shoulders. "Don't tell me if it's so awful."

"No," Baltor sighed, "I'll explain it to you completely. I can't tell you about most of it yet. I'm…waiting for the right moment."

"Well, _if_ that ever happens - "

"_Bloom!_ We're all going to lunch now!" Stella called, waving her hand in a huge motion to draw the attention of the other fairy, "Baltor can come too if he wants," she winked.

"Wanna?" she asked, turning back to him and smiling warmly, "I could use someone to talk to. And you have to thank Tecna for sup-ing up my phone."

He smiled, "Alright."

[-M-]

"You guys are late," Flora said with mock-anger, putting her hands on her hips and frowning.

After taking a few wrong turns, the motley crew arrived in front of a spacious café with large windows and lots of modern art decorating the walls. Along the way, Baltor had gotten acquainted with all of them, thanking Tecna for her help and consulting Stella about Bloom's behavior as if she'd been taking care of the girl in his stead. The solar fairy went along with it (much to the red-head's indignation), telling him that Bloom had been doing her homework and eating her vegetables, even going so far as to pinch the Earth-girl's cheeks in a moment of faux parental doting.

"Yeah," Riven said with a smirk, "Ms. GPS over here told us that the dead-end alley was a short-cut." Musa stuck her tongue out at him and his smirk grew wider.

"And _someone_ refused to cross the street where there wasn't a crosswalk," added Stella, looking pointedly at Brandon.

"Jaywalking is taken pretty seriously here," he answered with a shrug, "I can't get arrested for causing a crash."

"Magix' law enforcement is actually pretty lax," chimed Baltor from his place beside Bloom, "There're a ridiculous number of false designer handbags and magic jewelry items floating around." Stella looked scandalized.

Flora smiled, "I'm guessing you're Baltor," she extended a hand, "Bloom's been keeping me up all night with her phone calls. Have you considered letters?" There was no real annoyance behind the statement and the wizard took it in stride, grasping the small hand in his own and responding in negative, but thanking her for her patience. Bloom huffed at the unfairness of it all and marched into the eatery, the others chortling behind her.

After everyone had been seated (Tecna looking thoroughly exasperated by Timmy's unending discussion of computer chips and Riven blushing brightly at Musa's latest innuendo), they ordered large plates of finger-food to share between them and started talking about mid-terms. Baltor was more animated than Bloom thought he'd be, having numerous tips for both the fairies and heroes alike and sharing information that even Flora hadn't known about restoring planets to their former glory.

Bloom enjoyed the warm atmosphere, laughing along with everyone at Brandon's failure with chopsticks (though he didn't look too upset when Flora helped him) and feeling particularly giddy when Baltor pulled her aside for a romantic moment on the walk home. By the time the girls arrived back at the dorm, drunk on the excitement of the evening, they were all too tired and giggly to head back to their rooms and simply collapsed in their common room, gossiping about who was interested in whom and laughing their heads off at jokes they'd missed before. Eventually, they all nodded off, either on the couch or on the floor, not worrying for a moment about the witches or any other kill-joys.

…

…

A/N: "Bloom's such a whore!" Ahem, _no,_ she's a teenager (read: not monogamous!). "Wait, Riven's joining in the conversation?" I decided to boost his social skills. Not by much, mind you, but I want him and Musa to get together sooner. "Isn't the Day of the Rose _before_ the midterm?" Yes. I have artistic license and I'm not afraid to use it. "Bloom _isn't_ curious?" Of course she is. But why waste time researching when there's a sex god like Baltor to be had? "You're pairing Sky with _Flora?"_ Not exactly. They'll have their moment, but it won't be anything going beyond a close friendship (because I enjoy messing with the streamlined plot of the original series).

Review! (Please.)


	10. Chapter 10

"_**Wake up!"**_ Bloom's eyes opened and with a jolt she landed back in the common room she shared with the other girls. Around her, Stella and Flora were rubbing their eyes and Musa looked ready to murder their rouser who (being the only one left) was Tecna. The computer whiz put her tightly clenched fists on her hips and glared at them all, "Do you _know_ what day it is?" She asked, her voice dangerously low.

"Um, Sunday?" Flora answered, rubbing her eyes and squinting through her lashes at the pink-haired girl.

"_Yes,"_ Tecna replied, _"Sunday._ We have exactly five-and-a-half days to prepare for the mid-term."

"Big deal!" Stella said, leaning back against the couch and rubbing her cheek (she'd fallen asleep with her head on the coffee table and numbed that side of her face), "You didn't have to wake us up."

"_It's six AM!"_ roared Musa, jumping up and tackling Tecna, "Six AM on a _Sunday!"_

"Shut _u-up,"_ groaned Bloom, feeling a headache coming on, "Musa, stop it. Tecna, is there any _legitimate _reason for waking us all up? The world ending, maybe?" Flora giggled and got up, Stella following with a sigh.

"Our mid-terms decide where we're placed next quarter," said the girl over Musa's ranting, "Even if we ace the term's finals, they don't count it unless you take a whole bunch of personality tests and fool them into thinking you have the aptitude for where you are now."

Bloom stilled. Suddenly, the ache in her neck seemed to go away. "I have a C in potions," she said hoarsely, calculating the amount of studying it would take to climb out of the hole she'd dug herself into. No way would she allow herself to be separated from Flora-the-Botanist – the girl was the only reason she had a passing grade _now._ Nevermind the fact that she had the patience of a saint and was the only person willing – not counting Baltor, but he was an exception to nearly everything where she was involved – to explain half the theories to Bloom six times.

"So do I," Musa said, looking at Bloom from her place on top of Tecna (who looked a little more than pissed).

Half a second passed.

"_I call Flora!"_

"Dammit!"

"_Will you get off?"_

[-M-]

Bloom gasped, hooking her ankles together around her lover's middle and breathing an exclamation into the still, warm air of Baltor's new apartment.

He hadn't exactly spent his time away from her decorating (or cleaning; dust motes floated dreamily in the sunshine around them) as the only thing that seemed to have changed from the apartment's original state (not that Bloom would know; she hadn't been there before now) were the comically tall piles of spellbooks and boxes of clothes and furniture he'd brought with him from their home back on Earth. She'd commented on the fact that it seemed like he was moving the two of them here permanently, but he'd only 'Hn'-ed in response and gestured to the rickety table he had set up for their study session when she'd called with her emergency.

"You'll never pass that test if we keep doing this," he breathed, nibbling on the flesh exposed by her bra (she had no clue where her shirt was and didn't care).

"Fuck the test," she hissed, pulling his face up to hers and engaging in a rough kiss, her hips grinding harshly against his (a side-benefit of which informed her that he was enjoying this as much as she was, if _it_ was anything to go by). He moaned into her hair, gripping her hips and pressing feverish kisses against her throat, trailing down her collarbone, into her cleavage, down her bare stomach and biting the small amount of fat below her navel.

She pulled harshly on his hair and, for a moment, thought she'd been too forceful. That passed, however, when his thumbs pressed insistently on the dips inside her hip bones, causing her to squirm beneath him, extremely ticklish, and him to smirk at her half-laugh-half-groan. Eager to fight back, she pushed her hands up his shirt, smiling triumphantly when her fingers found his ribs and he shuddered. She found that his eyes had darkened, the gold changing to amber and staring at her frighteningly, his entire demeanor seeming possessed.

His breath came like hers, in ragged, uneven pants that ghosted over her skin and made her flush brightly. He sighed her name into their kisses, fingers tightening on her wrists and numbing her hands with their insistency. She called out his name dizzily, eyes sliding shut at the sensation of his teeth where she'd thought there was denim before, and _hn_-ing, though it was maddeningly different from the way he did it, and he shut his eyes at the sound, tongue flitting out to taste the perspiring skin of her thigh and trying hard to calm down before he lost himself completely.

A buzzing over to the side alerted Bloom to the fact that her phone was going off and she was pulled less-than-gently out of the pink haze that had descended over her mind during the tryst. She was surprised to find her skirt bunched up around her knees and noticed, with some irritation, her partner's apparent relief at the interruption. The ache that came along with heated moments like that was subsiding slowly, like it was determined to draw out the torture of pondering what may have happened had they continued, had she been just a _little_ more insistent…

She scowled, yanking the damn thing out of her bag and growling a greeting into the receiver.

"_Woah,"_ Musa's voice came through, dissipating the last trace of arousal she'd had and forcing her back into whatever niche in her mind she'd been in before they had started, "What's got _you_ all hot-and-bothered?" The suggestive lilt to the musician's tones told the redhead the girl knew _exactly _what had Bloom swallowing large mouthfuls of air and she stuttered out a 'How d'you know?' to the snickering teenager. "I can recognize that hitch on anyone," the fairy responded, "I was gonna tell you Tecna wants some info on the prehistoric magical creatures of Callisto 'cause your BF mentioned them yesterday at lunch, but I'm guessin' she'll have to wait."

"Uh, yeah," Bloom said, glancing over at Baltor who was gathering his hair back into an organized ponytail, "But I'm coming back tonight, if there was any debate about that, so she'll get it then."

"'Kay," Musa said, "See ya'."

Bloom hung up and stowed the device with the rest of her things, then faced Baltor with a bit of a frown, "You know, if there's any doubt that I want to sleep with you, it shouldn't exist. I'm _not_ squeamish."

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck in a weary manner, "It's not that, necessarily, it's just…I'm used to being the one who protects you. Taking your virginity on the floor of a ratty apartment in Magix goes against the grain."

"So this is about your _chivalry?"_

"'_This'?"_ he asked, raising an eyebrow at her, "I wasn't aware that there was a problem with my performance."

"Well, you looked pretty happy when we stopped," Bloom said, realizing with some trepidation that she was taking it where she didn't want to.

"That's not the issue. It was enjoyable – or did you not get that?" he asked, his irritation showing through.

"Sorry," she muttered, getting up and looking around for her shirt.

She raised her brows when his arms came around her unexpectedly and he pulled her down, both of them crashing against the hard floor and knocking a pile of books off one of the boxes lying around. "I thought I was rather good," he murmured into her ear, a chuckle rumbling in his chest and sending excited shivers down her spine again. Her cheeks reddened and she felt, rather than saw, his arms tighten around her torso, crushing her to his chest.

"Yeah, well, don't let it go to your head," she mumbled, spotting her green-and-white garment a ways away, hanging haphazardly off _Introduction to Magic._ She made a move towards it but was stopped by Baltor who shifted and tugged her down onto the floor with him, so that they were lying, legs tangled, on his nondescript carpet.

"In case you were unsure," his lips moved lightly over the shell of her ear, "You were pretty good, too." And then he was at the table, though Bloom wasn't certain if he'd gotten there by magic or if he'd taken the time to crawl out from underneath her and walk over (the latter not lacking probability, as she'd been busy with re-playing certain moments from their 'work-out', as instigated by his comment, and was likely spaced-out).

"So," he said, lifting a textbook and smirking at her expression, "Shall we?"

[-M-]

It was nearing evening when Bloom walked back onto the grounds of Alfea, toting nearly eighty pound's worth of spellbooks and other reference materials and cursing Tecna's evidently limited database.

"She ought to find someone else to do the info-collecting," huffed the fairy, jaw set as she lugged the bag up _another_ flight of stairs, "'Cause my spine's _so_ out-of-whack by now that I doubt I'll even be able to - " She froze, recalling the spell Flora had taught her and executed a perfect facepalm before altering the weight of the messenger bag and walking calmly back to the dorm as if she hadn't just wasted a spectacular amount of energy.

"_Hey,"_ greeted Musa, accompanying her next phrase with an eyebrow waggle, "How was your _study_ date?"

Bloom blushed hotly, "It was fine," she managed, "Where's Tecna? I have half an elephant's weight in books to throw at her."

"Shower," answered Musa, "She nearly strangled Stella today."

"Yeah?" Bloom said, setting the bag down at the entrance and rummaging through to find the cage that she'd guilted Baltor into preparing with her for Kiko, "I'm introducing someone into the dorm next weekend."

"Kiko?" Stella asked excitedly, sauntering into the room and looking excited at the prospect of seeing the bunny again.

"Uh-huh," answered the other girl, stretching and flopping down onto the couch. Bloom exhaled loudly, squeaking when Musa poked her leg nearly under her skirt. _"What?"_ she asked the tomboy, feathers ruffled.

"Is that a hickey?" asked Musa, pointing with a barely concealed grin at what Bloom felt was a rawer spot on her skin on the back of her thigh.

"Huh," she said, fingering the mark, "I didn't know he left one there."

"Ya' sure it was him at all, space cadet?" Stella asked, ruffling Bloom's hair, "With the amount of daydreaming _you_ do…"

"_Hey!_ I was conscious!" Barely.

Tecna's laugh announced her presence and the group murmured salutations, repeating them when Flora entered the room. "Do you have the books I asked for?"

"Yes," growled Bloom, glaring at the taller girl, "And I don't understand why you can't just call _Timmy_ and ask for his help with it." Behind her, Stella clucked in false disappointment; Bloom struggled to resist the urge to turn around and ask.

"Timmy has his own test to study for," Tecna answered with an upturned nose, moving to look through Bloom's things for what she needed.

"She's upset because he's clueless," Musa said, moving to lie on the couch with her feet up over the backrest and her head hanging off the seat, "If he was more adaptable, her grabbing him and kissing him would solve the problem, but neither one of them has the guts to do that."

"And what about _Riven,_ hm?" Tecna said from across the room.

"You have lovebites all over your stomach," Musa smirked at Bloom.

"Changing the subject is _Baltor's_ dirty trick, dear Musa," Stella said, poking the hip-hop enthusiast in the stomach, "You've been around him for one day and already you're picking up all his bad habits. Soon you'll be like Bloom – _always_ smirking. She's been _ruined."_

"_Hey!"_

There was a long moment of silence where the only people not sporting dramatically frustrated expressions was Flora. The tension broke when the plant-loving fairy let out an extremely uncharacteristic snort, and the rest followed, cackling like what had just transpired was the funniest thing in the dimension.

"So," Bloom said, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, "What's with you, Flo'? You and Brandon were looking pretty chummy."

"Actually, I spent the day with him. We hit a café uptown and talked," Flora revealed.

"And you _kept_ this from us?" Stella shrieked. Musa gestured for the fairy to go on.

"He's engaged to a girl back on his planet. They've dated before and like each other a good amount, he says. He said he was open to dating, but it couldn't ever turn into anything serious." Flora said.

"_So?_ What'd you say?"

"I said I wanted to try it out," Flora responded, shrugging as casually as she could.

"Friends with benefits? That will undoubtedly become very complicated. Especially if his fiancée catches wind," Tecna said, quirking a worried brow.

"He's not really the type of person I'd fall in love with, y'know?" Flora murmured, lacing her fingers together, "I'm just doing it for the experience. Plus, it's nice to know that any mistakes will be overlooked, since we're not taking it anywhere."

"Hm," Musa said, sitting upright and looking thoughtful, "'Friends with benefits,' huh? Not a bad idea. Ya think Riven would be into it? – I don't think he wants to have a real girlfriend yet."

"If the way he teased you meant anything…" Stella said, crossing her arms, "But I stand by Tecna; it'll turn into a huge mess sooner or later."

"Well, I wish you two luck," Bloom said, getting up to put the cage into her and Flora's room, "Can't say I envy the drama you're about to put yourselves through."

"No drama," Musa said, smiling, "It'll be like testing him out."

"_If_ he says yes," stated Tecna, "We can't assume he'll agree."

"Oh, he'll agree," Stella said, nodding sagely, "They always do."

[-M-]

The students were in a frenzy. Exams were causing an unprecedented panic (though the teachers took pleasure in awarding 'I-told-you-so's to any frantic girl looking to review the last month's study materials with their instructor) and every night the library was jam-packed with cramming fairies looking to stuff what they hadn't been paying attention to previously into their brains. Now, when Bloom called Baltor late-into-the-night with frantic questions, Flora was not only encouraging her to stay up late, but also asking the wizard questions of her own. Thankfully, Baltor was tolerant of their inquiries and even endured speaker-phone study sessions in which the five friends gathered around and listened to oral explanations of their worst subjects.

Every-so-often, this led to curious query about Baltor's identity being kept secret by Stella, who, after having the mysteries of Magiphilosophy explained to her by the man, wanted to immediately suggest him to Faragonda and demand that the sloppy excuse of an instructor who currently had the position immediately be thrown out. Baltor managed to explain that he would rather not face the headmistress due to a past indiscretion against her (which piqued Bloom's curiosity again, but she didn't press; she'd asked him to leave off on the cryptic hints unless he was literally about to tell her what seemed to be eating at him) and eventually Stella's protests (and Musa's occasional objection) were silenced.

The one thing Bloom was worried about was Tecna, who had only been reassured that Baltor didn't have something _real_ to hide when he explained about having offended their headmistress, and still seemed a bit wary of the wizard. Bloom suspected this was due to years of online chatrooms and dozens of demonstrations on how unknown persons were untrustworthy. Bloom's reminder that she'd known him for years and hadn't been harmed did a lot to maintain the faith of the girl, though, (Tecna seemed to, like Bloom, have discovered a friendship different from others she'd had in the girls) and she hoped it had put the computer whiz' fears to rest permanently.

Slight dubiousness about Baltor's history did nothing to get in the way of their studying, though, and soon the girls were well on their way to knowing everything there was to know about Potionology, Metamorphosimbiosis and Magiphilosophy. Alarmingly (considering the countdown to the exam), Bloom found herself drifting off during class, missing key points in their newest unit. Thankfully, Tecna had a solution to this: a quick-fix draught that boosted cognitive thinking, energy and awareness. The catch was that it made you nearly hyperactive, and as nearly every girl was doing something to up their game this time of the year, the sounds of drumming hands, tapping pencils and wiggling legs knocking over stacks of books drove the professors mad. They couldn't exactly object to it, though, since every eye was on them, terrified of missing something important. Personally, Bloom thought they deserved it, coming up with something so cruel and unusual as a midterm.

Little by little, the days trickled by, like sand in an hourglass. Anxiety reigned over the roommates, each having to remind the others to go to sleep so that they'd had at least four hours a night. Stella, being the least functional without sleep, occasionally passed out without warning – each of them had perfected floating her into her room – and between them all, they'd started making bets on how long she would last, much to the huffy embarrassment of the blonde. The last night before the test was a rest night, which was to be used for sleep and _only_ sleep. Which would explain Flora's ripping the phone from her hand and hanging up on Baltor, but that didn't mean the red-head wasn't a bit twitchy after she'd done it.

Bloom sighed and decided to call him back later, feeling exhausted herself, and crashed onto her bed, not bothering to change or even set the alarm.

[-M-]

_The witch smirked to herself a little, feeling pride in a job well done as the numbers appeared one after the other on the screen._

_One thing was sure: she hadn't botched the job. Icy's emotional outbursts _hurt_ and they were steadily increasing as the fairies got more and more involved in what the three of them were doing. Had the Solarian princess not been so well-trained in combat – and how _had_ she gotten so good? She shouldn't have, what with having bodyguards and all – she and Stormy wouldn't have had to put up with their sister's anger issues. But, Darcy supposed, it was only to be expected._

_Icy had gone farther than Darcy had dared, dipping her toes in nearly every tainting level-up, enhancer and dark power source she could find. Her latest goal was something banned from even the foulest section of the library: the Army of Decay. As thrilling as it was to cause a breakup or public humiliation, the manipulative witch couldn't look forward to the insanity that the summons would undoubtedly inspire. Perhaps the blue-haired loose cannon had lost herself in the seductive crackle of energy, but she, Darcy, couldn't do it. There was a reason she liked schemes – she was always in control. And the magic that her sisters liked was mind-tripping in its ability; she wasn't about to let go of her hold on herself. Nevermind that emotions ran wild under the influence, addiction could start to take hold. When she wasn't shrieking insults at them for not coming up with plans to claim the magic ring, Icy was threatening them with everything she could think up, ordering them to find more books, more power-ups, more magic for her high. Darcy had dealt with Icy's crashes and trips, keeping them secret from Stormy, who was already complaining of shakes and escaping static_

_And, though she hid it well, Darcy was beginning to have moments like that herself, when the magic in the books whispered to her, wrapped around her, asked her to give into the pull. Tasting it was indescribable, but the private glimpses into Icy's lost control and the glances to two oldest shared when Stormy fisted her hands in frustration over something the weather witch had no clue about were enough to keep her from diving in too many times._

_But now wasn't the time to be going over that. She had a job to finish; once the file had been stored, she had to save it and make sure the program gave them a sound connection to Stella's test. If this chance didn't go through, she wasn't sure how harsh the punishment from Icy would be, given that it was just about the easiest thing for the three of them to do without having to do battle outright (and the fairies were sure to lose, if they didn't have that man with them). She and the eldest had both looked for a face matching the one in their memories on the school's computers, but nothing came up. This wasn't unusual – there were millions of people milling about; they weren't _all_ registered, but something didn't sit right with them concerning the man (and the fact that he very nearly made her blush didn't help)._

_The beeping slowed and Darcy zero-ed in on the manual screen, eyes narrowing and a scowl forming. Her spell was _flawless._ If it had been working perfectly up until then, what had gone wrong? She raised a glowing palm to re-new the hex, when a voice stopped her in her tracks._

"_I'm afraid I can't let you do that."_

_She whirled around, expecting Faragonda or some other professor, but instead she found him. The man. The smirk he'd donned when they'd seen each other last was still there, and Darcy wondered why he seemed cheerful if he was, as it seemed, on the side of the fairies._

"_Why not? The aura surrounding you is just as dark as mine; what are you doing protecting Alfea students?" she asked, voice not giving anything away. She was an excellent actress, having practiced time and time again on their classmates for the amusement of her sisters, she knew what to say to get the information she needed, how to keep her own secrets safe, and how to challenge her opponent in just the right way. _'Let him think you're intrigued,' _she thought to herself, _'Let him think you want to know him personally.' _She may have wanted to, too, but with the attention he was giving the fairies, she couldn't._

_His smirk widened dangerously, like hers was known to do when she discovered something pathetically vulnerable about a target and she felt the room grow colder a few degrees. He was powerful, just as powerful as Icy, if not more, if he could twist his surroundings without trying. "It is in my best interest to keep my ward safe," he said, voice cheery, "And I'm afraid that at the moment, her friend's safety ties into that."_

"_That might be a problem, then," Darcy replied, choosing her words carefully._

"_What are you after?" He asked unexpectedly, tone suddenly serious, and, unbidden, the answer spills out of her:_

"_The Dragon Fire."_

_His eyes widened a fraction before his beguiling smile returned and he held up a gloved hand, "Oh? You mean this?" A flame roared to life in his palm and Darcy quickly summoned her Whisperian Crystal, bidding it to tell her if what he held so effortlessly in his palm _really was –

_And it was true. The feminine curve of the crystal beamed its assent. The man was holding the Dragon Fire in his palm. Targeting Stella was futile – he already had what they were looking for. Darcy took a weary step back, realizing that the knowledge, once relayed, would bring about another tantrum from her sister. His smirk at her surprise was wicked, and he chuckled before muttering the incantation that sent her forcefully out of the castle, no allowing her to fight back._

_Darcy wiped the dirt from her chin and transported herself off-campus, back to the dormitory she shared with the other two. There was some hope, at least: they now knew to research any connections between the Dragon Fire and males, instead of women, as they'd been doing previously. With that comforting thought in mind, the witch curled up on her bed and fell asleep._

…

…

A/N: …And now you know why I changed the rating (and we're all overlooking the fact that his eyes are actually gray, m'kay?).

"You _do_ know that that's not what midterms actually do, right?" Yeah, I know. I just figured since they made such a big deal about it, there should be a reason for it to be monumental. "What are you trying to do with the 'friends with benefits' thing?" I'm _trying_ to make everything more complicated. Because that's what makes it _fun._ And no, Flora and Sky won't end up together, as I've said. There's a difference between _this_ and_ that._ And while we all wince when reading about our moral role-models-to-little-girls getting into such a risky business, we must remember that they're _teens._ _Not_ adults and _not_ children. "Baltor's _name_ is known, but his appearance isn't?" Yes (and only by a few persons). Deliciously plotty, wouldn't you say? "Uh…Avona? Was your spell-check on while you were writing this?" The Winx Club Wiki has a list of the professors and what they teach – no way did I come up with _those_ subjects. _"Ahem!_ What the hell did Baltor just do?" He drew attention away from Bloom and her friends, of course (he was a bit drunk at the time, too – brooding can mess with judgement). Too bad that this will have some consequences…

Review!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I'm fairly sure that Gardenia's supposed to be in Italy, but I've never _been_ to Italy (the only Mediterranean country I've been to is Turkey), so, if you haven't guessed yet, here, Gardenia's in the US. Because I can. *flashes Artistic License*

…

…

Bloom stared at the platter of food, starving, but not really feeling like she deserved it. She'd eat later, after the test was over. It wasn't that she was nauseous or anything similar – she'd never really been one to feel ill from psychological things like impending exams, but with what she was about to face, food wasn't something she wanted to consider. Plus, she wasn't really hungry for eggs or bacon. Stella, who'd been watching her for the last few minutes, made an angry expression and stood up, making a breaststroke-type motion and floating over the table to where Bloom sat, then, stabbing one of the bigger pieces of scrambled egg and dipping it in her ketchup (narrowing her eyes as she did so - Stella didn't like the stuff; apparently, it wasn't 'classy enough' for her) and brought it up to Bloom's face, bumping it against her mouth until the red-head swatted her away.

"You can't just _not_ eat!" Stella fumed, eyebrows drawing together and hands being placed on hips, "I promised your boyfriend I'd take care of you while he wasn't here!"

"Well," sighed Bloom, "He's living not twenty-minute's bus ride from here, so there's really no need to keep mothering me. Besides," Bloom looked at Stella's tray's vacant place on the tabletop, "You're not eating, either."

"I woke up early and snacked during a morning study session," the girl shrugged, "I'm pretty full."

Musa nodded, a look of dread similar to Bloom's on her face, "Yeah, I saw you taking out the trash this morning."

Flora jumped like she'd been shocked, "What's the spell for making things disappear?"

"Aw, shit," Bloom groaned, "I didn't even think about that! What if the Magical Reality Chamber picks a planet I can't _go_ on?"

"You're not eating, so I don't think there'll be any need for you to take a dump," Musa said, un-impressed by Bloom's frantic digging for notes.

"Can you, for _one_ moment, _not_ be crude?" Stella said, _"Please?"_

"Oh, she's not that bad," Bloom said absent-mindedly, leafing through her flashcards, "Remember elementary school?"

"Uh, _no,"_ the princess replied.

Bloom sighed and proceeded to ignore the conversation, which was becoming a tad bit difficult to do, as the volume of the two royals was escalating. The argument was probably due to nerves, or lack of sleep, but she didn't feel like stepping in to anyone's rescue at the moment. She forced herself to take a deep breath and began looking through the cards again, sure that the spell would come up. No such luck; it refused to be found. What's worse, her water-purifying charms seemed to be gone, too.

Flora breathed out in relief and handed a slip of paper to the Earthling girl, who scanned it and chanted the words a few times, causing some oatmeal in Tecna's bowl to vanish. The programmer gave an exasperated glare and re-summoned the lost fruit-and-grain, finishing her breakfast at a slow and calm pace. Bloom took a moment to marvel at the tech expert's unruffled exterior, then continued to page through combat's textbook's index until she found where survival spells were listed. A few bread-crumb-and-water solutions and repeated dispelling hand motions later, they'd finished with breakfast and separated to go to the chamber they'd been assigned to.

The Magical Reality Chamber had a large observatory room for those not in the process of taking the test and the class gathered there with butterflies in their stomachs, waiting to be called. To Bloom's right, Stella and Tecna looked over supplies and notes, and Bloom sent out a small prayer to whatever deity might help her on this. Lord knew, she'd need divine intervention to get through _this_ with a passing score. Professor Palladium paced in front of them, explaining safety procedures and reminding about cheating policies. When the last emphasized point had been made, he sat down onto the swivel chair at the controls and brought up a list of names.

Tecna was the first to go. A bit anxious over their own depleted study time, but still wanting to cheer their friend on, Bloom and Stella hovered between the screen, where Tecna worked through a hot and water-less desert planet, trying to find a plant or animal of some sort she could use as an indicator of a water source, and the rest of the group, who were cramming with armloads of textbooks on the floor, a few feet away.

Eventually, the strategist found a water source after painstakingly following a beetle to a small tunnel it had dug to stay out of the sun. The girl had transformed and blasted mountains of sand out of her way until she reached some damp earth, and then blasted some more to get to the water. Within moments, she'd set up a camp within the crater she'd created and had a pot of boil-and-eat rations cooking in the feet-burning sand. She hadn't been sitting waiting for it for two minutes when her surroundings disappeared and Tecna was sitting in the Magical Reality Chamber, her supplies scattered around her.

"Good job, Tecna," Palladium said encouragingly into the microphone, "That's an A. You may re-join the rest of the class."

Looking surprised at the simplicity of what she'd just aced, the girl wiped the sweat off her forehead and gathered her things, trudging back to Bloom and Stella who congratulated her and sat her down to help them review.

"That looked easy," Bloom said, pausing in her examination of her potions kit to check Tecna for disagreement.

"I thought so, too," said the pinkette, "The only thing that made it difficult is my sensitivity to UV rays."

"Sunburn, huh?" The Earthling said with sympathy while Stella tsk-ed at them, spreading lotion over her sun-tolerant skin.

"D'you think the test picks things specific to our weaknesses?" Stella asked, lifting a copy of _Mastering the Specifics: Learning Control _and glancing through the table of content.

"I don't think so," Tecna said, nodding her head at the screen, where a water-type fairy grinned at her luck on a hydrogen-only planet, "I'm pretty sure it's random."

"Well, that makes it doubly worse," said Stella disdainfully, "They could at least make it _fair."_

"I think this is fair," Bloom said, "Those who studied will pass no matter what. Those who didn't - "

"There is _no-one_ who hasn't studied, Bloom," The blonde rolled her eyes and continued reading, while Tecna quizzed the redhead by summoning various substances like dirt or water and challenging the girl to get rid of them somehow.

Too soon, it was Bloom's turn in the Chamber. She breathed slowly and steadily, trying to recall how easy Tecna's had looked. _'Well, she's studied, hasn't she?'_ But she'd studied as well, Bloom reminded herself, even if all she could remember right now were what certain textbook pages looked like and not what was actually on them. _'This'll be fine,'_ she thought, _'I'll ace it, cheer on Stella, and then call Baltor and tell him how I totally pwned,'_ she thought, a smile creeping onto her face at the thought of his irritation when she used slang. Immortal wizards tended to get a little behind the times.

"Alright, Bloom," said the professor, "I'm about to activate the Chamber. Please inform me if you've left any belongings in the control room that you need right now."

"No," she replied, feeling more than a little shaky, "I'm good."

"Alright. All systems go." The elf smiled encouragingly and nodded at her as the screen that displayed the control room disappeared from view, replaced by mossy, vine-laden trees and damp ground. She appeared to be surrounded by swampy terrain, and the strange plants told her that she shouldn't get too comfortable in the semi-familiar surroundings. When she lifted her feet, they came out of the slimy earth with an unpleasant sucking noise.

Moving slowly in her sandals, she made her way over to a boulder sticking out of the muck and climbed on, disposing of the mud on her shoes and in-between her toes with a hissed chant and trying to recall the spells Flora used to alter clothing. It was more of a song than a stated invoke-ment, but it was the best chance Bloom had at keeping her feet safe from fungus. Waving her hands over the shoes, she hummed,

"_Change and shift,_

"_Alter drift._

"_Protect from dirt,_

"_Muck and hurt."_

Like she'd thought, her muddled and hoarse verses weren't enough to change the heels into proper boots, but the end result wasn't bad – in fact, it was better than what she'd hoped for originally: her shoes had formed sock-like coverings around her feet, melding with her jeans and forming something like the bottoms of footie pajamas. An idea forming, she focused her winx into changing the fabric of her pants as well, into a rubbery material that worked well to keep her skin from the wetness that permeated what seemed to be _everything_ on this planet.

With that done with, she pulled a stick out of the ground beside her and, after drying it with a spell, lit it with some of her fire (which didn't burn her hand anymore, thanks to her first transformation) and began to make her way through the mist. A few seconds later, the torch sputtered and died. Bloom frowned. She couldn't sense anyone else around, and she knew the stick hadn't been damp enough to cause her flame to go out. A dim memory of a page from a science textbook inspired a panic: what if there was gas in the air? She lit the torch again and watched it intently. When it flickered and died, she breathed out as much of the muggy air as she could and recalled what she and Tecna had practiced: _"Oxygen-us Layer-us," _she said, raising her hands above her head and forming a dome that blocked all air flow, _"Fume-us Remove-us."_

With some satisfaction, she once again lit the end of the wood and trudged onward, pulling her dome of clean air around with her, looking for a spot with soil instead of mud. Eventually, she made it away from the mucky area to where the trees were and, after drying the ground with some more fire-summons, Bloom planted a few seeds and sped their growth with magic. Not two minutes after she'd managed an edible plant, her surroundings disappeared and she was left staring in slight disappointment at the plant that she _would_ have eaten, had she really been trapped wherever she'd been.

"B+!" Congratulated Palladium with a sheepish smile, "Though I think those points were only for botching the spell with your shoes. Nonetheless, if I had been the one grading, that would have been an A." Bloom nodded, a bit miffed, but happy that she'd managed a high score and moved back to her friends (but only after reversing the spells on her clothing and getting rid of any muck that had remained).

When she entered, Stella and Tecna both jumped her with hugs and compliments about remembering the incantation for air-purifying, Stella chattering about how proud Baltor would be. Bloom managed a sneaky grin and said that maybe Sky wouldn't mind having a try-hard for a girlfriend, either, and Tecna blushed modestly when her perfect GPA was weighed against Timmy's. Now, the Earthling and computer whiz were left with helping Stella, who didn't make it easy for them by requesting a convergent spell from the two (they had that much practice at joining their powers together).

Stella, as it was, went last. The princess ended up on a dark, cold planet with gooey surroundings that she, upon contact, burned into oblivion and turned into soil for the seeds she'd brought with her. She'd had to transform to access her sunlight, using its vitamin-rich self as well as her winx' nurturing properties to grow the same plant Bloom had, during her test. The whole thing lasted a grand total of five minutes, much to the relief of the rest of the class, who were antsy to get out of the room. Stella came away with a B-, for accidentally destroying her water source (the moss she'd thought was too gross to endure) but creating an exceptionally healthy _Eco Totalus_ tree added extra credit to her total and gave her a score the Solarian deemed acceptable.

The group grinned at their victory and high-fived, rushing back to the dining hall for lunch to share the good news with Flora and Musa, just now realizing how hungry they were.

[-M-]

"…So that's how it went," Bloom supplied, feeling a smile come on for managing her near-faultless score.

"That sounds excellent," he said with what she could tell was mustered enthusiasm.

"What's wrong?" She asked, "Were you hoping for an A? Palladium said the messed-up boot spell cost me points."

"No," he replied, sounding weary now that she'd drawn attention to it, "It's just that I may have done something with larger consequences than I anticipated."

"Oh?"

There was a pause. Baltor inhaled, "Last night, one of the protection spells I have around you alerted me to an intruder in Alfea castle."

"Huh?" Bloom said, not surprised by the admittance of protection spells (it was actually rather nice to know she was being looked after), "But I didn't even wake up last night."

"I know. The intruder turned out to be one of those witches that you encountered earlier in the year," Baltor said with a sigh. She heard the sound of hot water pouring into a mug.

"We haven't seen them in _months,_ though. What were they planning to do?" Bloom queried.

"I snuck in as well and found her hovering over Stella's midterm file; I counter-hexed it, and asked what she and the other two were trying to do by sabotaging you…" Another sigh, "They're after the Dragon Fire."

"Okay, so, I get why they'd want a power source like that, but why are they after Stella?" The red-head asked, abandoning the textbook she'd been browsing though and kicking her feet up against her headboard.

"I don't think they are," replied the wizard, "They were probably misinformed; I'm betting they just _thought_ Stella's ring contained the Dragon Fire, and the idea didn't hold any real truth."

"So what now? Why are there 'larger consequences'?"

"I...She needed to be distracted from you and your friends, so I summoned the Dragon Fire and allowed her to check whether it was the real thing or not before sending her out of the school," Baltor admitted.

"So now they're after you?" Bloom deadpanned, irritation creeping up. She'd just passed a midterm – wasn't she allowed a break?

"I'm afraid so. And they already know I have a connection to you, so…"

"So _you_ think we should keep separate for a while and pretend we have nothing to do with each other to make them think that you don't care about us as much as it seems and that I have nothing to do with this 'Dragon Fire'."

"Um, no, actually. Why think that? They've seen me defend you twice, now – three times, if they know it was me that beat the ogre back on Earth," Baltor said, sounding genuinely confused, "If anything, it should confirm their suspicions that we have something to do with each other."

"Chivalry."

"Ah." And then a long silence.

"Can I ask you something?"

"It depends."

"When you stop during our…stuff…is it…?"

"I'm not doing it because I don't want to keep going," he assured her, sounding relieved she hadn't probed for answers that he wasn't ready to give, "I just don't want to do anything until I tell you."

"Do you have AIDS or something? 'Cause while that may cause complications - "

" – _I have no sexually transmitted diseases. At all. Ever. Stop."_

"Okay," Bloom said, snickering, "You just act like such a girl when this stuff comes up."

"Ahh. Nothing like the support and understanding of one's partner."

"Yeah," Bloom giggled, "'Partner.' You're straight as a rainbow."

"If I may, I remember you _begging_ me to buy you a tuxedo at some point."

"I wanted to look like you did in that one suit you have! With the burgundy jacket?"

"That thing…" His tone had grown melancholy again, "I still have it, somewhere."

Bloom exhaled, growing tired of his depression, "I'll call you about where I'm going to meet you later, 'kay?"

"You're sneaking out?"

"Duh! I passed an exam, remember? _I_ think that earns me some campus-leaving privileges."

He chuckled, "And what will you be doing off-campus?"

"Make me stir-fry," she commanded, nodding to Flora, who'd run in to grab a book for her next class, "I have to go. My free period's over."

"I'll see you soon."

"See ya."

[-M-]

"_How could you let yourself be blasted out of there like a toddler!" screeched the glacial witch, hands fisted, unwittingly summoning cold with her rage._

"_There was nothing I could do," Darcy replied as monotonously as she dared, flinching at her sister's shouting. "He's just as powerful as you, maybe more. If I'd tried to stay and fight, the entire school would've been on us in half a second."_

"_But why didn't he rat you out?" Stormy asked, "If he's working for them, why not call Faragonda and get us expelled?"_

_Darcy paused, working over the options in her head, "I doubt Alfea would hire someone like him. I was close enough to sense his aura in there – it's as dark as yours," she said, turning to Icy, "They're very _ethical,"_ she sneered, "A dark wizard isn't someone they'd want on their staff."_

_Icy didn't say anything, looking out their only window at the gloom that constantly surrounded their school. "If he didn't want to get any attention, chances are he snuck in just like Darcy," a smirk appeared on her face, mirrored by her sisters' expressions. "And if he doesn't want to get found out by that preppy school's headmistress, then it's our job to _make sure_ he's found out." She let out a cackle, Stormy copying. Darcy smirked in anticipation._

_Manipulation games were her forte._

…

…

A/N: I've changed the category, too, since this seems to be getting more and more dramatic… This chapter is shorter than the last one, but I figured I'd dumped enough info on you last time.

"I thought Stella needed, like, extra sleep." Yes, that's how I'm writing her; the first symptoms of her eating disorder have made their appearance. These are actually a bit too obvious, but I wanted people to be able to catch it.

"Bloom's supposed to have Sparx as her planet during the test." I didn't want her to; Sparx was covered in snow at one time during the series and only very cold when the witches messed up her midterm. This would be too confusing for me to explain later, so I went with Sparx not-being on the list of planets for students to try to survive on.

Review! (I'll answer questions of yours.)


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: In which I piss everyone off.

…

…

Bloom's ecstatic smile faded when Baltor opened the door and the full force of his exhaustion stared her in the face. He looked happy to see her, but there was a general distracted air about him, like he'd left the kettle on or was waiting for the drier to finish with a suit that he needed for an important meeting. He gave her a tight hug, expression unreadable. The feeling was enough, though, and Bloom didn't hesitate to push him up against the wall inside, murmuring an order to forget about the Cloud Tower girls, and shut the apartment door with her magic.

"Your food will get cold," he sighed, releasing her waist, much to her displeasure – the fluttering, pattern-less beat her heat had taken on when she'd gotten bold had finally settled into a comforting thrum, and she'd enjoyed being on top (well, only figuratively, since they hadn't been lying down, but _damn,_ there was something about being the one doing the pinning!).

"Okay, what's going on?" Bloom asked, finally raising her voice, "We lived together just _fine_ for eighteen years and now _this!"_ She gestured at the air between them, "What's happened?"

"Nothing's happened," Baltor responded, moving past her to the not-so-rickety table (courtesy of a spell she remembered him teaching her back on Earth, when her favorite swivel chair broke) and dishing out portions of _chow mein_, juicy vegetables and glazed bird of some sort.

She snorted, but didn't refuse to sit down, pulling her plate towards her and working the steaming noodles onto her fork, "Oh, okay, _liar._ Seriously, what's the deal? I get that you have this big secret that you're unwilling to share 'cause you don't want me to be 'angered' or whatever, but how do the witches feature? I mean, they're only a couple years older than me; you're practically immortal."

He chuckled, "Something like that." She watched him chew a green bean (trade between Earth and Magix was illegal, because the Council had decided it was better to stay out of their business, but it seemed Baltor had found a dealer to supply him with familiar veggies), "…I'm not in Magix _just_ to see you."

…Well, _that_ was a blow to the ego. "So how come you're here?" Bloom asked, upset leaking into the neutral tone she'd been hoping to use. He sighed slowly, setting his fork down carefully and staring out the window at the streetlights casting a dim glow on the street, the smoky-blue shadows between the buildings cold, despite the margarita-red sunset in the distance. Bloom leaned back and swallowed, realizing that she'd hear what he'd been keeping from her (or at least part of it) now.

"If I was going to live somewhere, I wouldn't have chosen Earth. The first few years were _hell._ I had to keep my magic hidden, learn about all the damned documents – passports, licenses, birth certificates, photographs; it all had to be forged, and I needed to keep you alive and healthy during that time, too. I cast spells on civilians I saw, taking their money and looking through their things. We kept living off other people, and we moved frequently. I tutored you until you in magic, English and math until you were six years old, and then got a job, found you a school and rented an apartment." He stopped, staring at his plate with a mixture of relief and hesitancy on his face; _I'm glad I started, but I don't know if I should keep going._

"Why didn't you choose a magical planet?" Bloom asked, feeling the need to encourage his explaining. A feeling of intense discomfort had settled over her at the revelation of his stealing; worse than petty thefts, actual meal's and wardrobe's worth of paychecks taken from other's pocketbooks.

"I didn't want to have anyone following me, and at the time, Earth was impossible to get to without certain requirements being fulfilled - " – Bloom frowned, picking up on the hidden information – " – so when the situation presented itself, you and I left and arrived here."

"Why didn't you want to be followed?" If he was unwilling to spill about the 'certain requirements', that was fine. He'd made it easy for her; she only needed to look it up.

"…Eat your Chinese."

She complied, acknowledging that he wouldn't share any more tonight. _'That's fine,'_ she thought, clumsily slurping a noodle that had escaped her fork, _'I have my first clue.'_

[-M-]

"I am _not_ going to ask him," Tecna said, crossing her arms and looking the other way deliberately, glaring at the wall.

"Tecna, I _need_ this. _You_ were the one who said it was suspicious that Baltor didn't want us to mention his name to Faragonda." Bloom whined, wringing her hands, "I don't want to get Faragonda's attention again; what if she gets _really _curious about my research?"

"Timmy is uninterested in me anyway; he won't bend rules so that you can look up Earth teleportation from twenty years ago," the tactician responded, standing up and moving away to her computer.

"Ugh." Bloom scowled spectacularly, fisting her hands and tilting her head up, _"Stella! _Tecna's refusing to acknowledge her feelings towards the guy who can set me up with unlimited access to an unlimited database!" Tecna sighed, mouth set in annoyance and continued typing as if she hadn't heard Bloom's shout. The red-head, however, looked around in confusion, "Where is she? She came in with me; I know that."

Bloom walked to the bathroom they shared, "Stel'? You in there?"

"Yeah! What's up?" The door opened and the blonde regarded her interestedly, rinsing her mouth with the whitening wash Flora had brought back from her last date in Magix with Sky (an excuse for all of them to give her shopping lists and change to buy them things with).

Bloom quirked a brow, "Odd time to worry about mouth hygiene. Anyway, I need Timmy's database, and Tecna's the one who can get it for me."

The princess shrugged and spat into the sink, "Get it yourself. You know where he lives."

"Now if _that's_ not creepy…" Bloom said, but nodded in agreement, "Okay. When can I make the trip to Red Fountain?"

"Musa's meeting Riven tomorrow for a date-that's-not-a-real-date-because-of-them-not-actually-dating-date," said Stella.

"Um. Okay. Think she'll let me tag along?"

"Well, assuming you don't creep on them during the date-that's - "

"_Okay._ I'll go ask her."

As it was, Musa was fine with her coming, even with lending Bloom a few coins for the bus to the school. The musician eagerly told her about the bike ride Riven had suggested, not blushing at Bloom's waggling eyebrows (not done as well as Baltor could do, but well enough), instead making the Earthling's face turn tomato-red with her (incidentally correct) remarks about Bloom's evening with Baltor. The red-head failed at out-lech-ing the dark-haired girl, and resolved to do better next time, much to the singer's amusement. Together, they made their way up to the boy's rooms, Musa soon leaving for the garage with her beau and Bloom heading for 'Computer Lab A', where Sky had said Timmy was (passing her a note for Stella, too, of course).

Once she found the lab, she approached the male programmer with caution, wary of startling him like she knew Tecna could be when she was absorbed in whatever she was doing on the comp. It seemed, however, that the specialist was more aware of his surroundings than her pink-haired friend, because he turned as soon as she came near, hands in a defensive position that lowered easily when he saw it was her.

"Hey, Bloom. What're you doing here?" he asked, nervously scratching his cheek and face heating at the snickers from the guys around him. She hazarded a guess that computer geeks didn't get many visits from girls.

"Uh, well, I was wondering if you'd let me have a look at that infamous database of yours." She grinned imploringly.

"Alright," he said, "Just let me save this." Three clicks later, he was leading her into the library and to a small collection of screens near the entrance. "Just slip these over your eyes, like so," he said, removing his glasses and putting on a pair of goggles. Bloom complied, and waited for him to slide his ID through the sensor. A search bar and touch-screen keyboard appeared, blinking at her and Timmy in wait, "And type in what you need. The database will find it for you."

"_Cool._ But why the goggles?"

"It's in case someone's looking up something personal, like their parent's divorce papers or something," he explained.

"You can get _that_ specific?"

"Of course. This is no ordinary Realm Wide Web," he said.

"But what about privacy?" She asked, feeling a bit miffed that her dorm number in Alfea might be exposed to any guy looking.

"That's why only certain people are allowed to have these," he pointed to his ID card, still in the reader, "The exam I had to take to get that thing was _impossible._ They do really extensive background checks on you, too, to make sure you never stole information or cheated or anything. Plus, most documents like that have a password to prevent people seeing."

"Hm," Bloom said, and typed her keywords.

"What do you want to know about travelling to Earth twenty years ago?"

"Well, I heard that it was really difficult. I want to know why."

"Doesn't Alfea's library have information about this?"

"Yeah, but…you know…this is so much better," she said with a nervous laugh.

He gave her a look but didn't press further. "Okay, well, I'm gonna go back to Lab A. When you're done, bring me my card, 'kay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Tim; you're a lifesaver."

"Uh…"

"Earth term."

"Right."

Bloom turned back to the screen and eyed the results. The first thing that popped up was a generic research database whose accuracy was approved by Tecna herself, and Bloom started here, tapping the screen and reading as the information popped up. Once she'd finished with that site, she moved further (one finding in particular causing her to raise an eyebrow), printing the information she thought was valuable to take back to the dorm and analyze with the help of the girls. With some satisfaction, she gathered her papers and removed Timmy's ID, moving back to where she'd found him and returning it with a hug.

"I'm glad it helped," he said, awkwardly adjusting his glasses (which, actually, never seemed out of place; she guessed he'd just formed the habit when there was nothing else for his hands to do).

"No problem. Now," she said, fixing him with a stern gaze, "I have advice for you."

"Um…"

"Ask Tecna out _now_ or be single and uncomfortable in the presence of females forever." Snickers erupted around them and he blushed hotly, looking about to stutter denial. Bloom didn't acknowledge this, turning and walking out of the room and, without stopping, the building, an accomplished smile on her face.

[-M-]

"Alright, so, what'd ya find?" Musa asked, plopping down onto the couch the girls shared, Flora leaning against it and Tecna doing the same against the wall behind them.

"Around twenty years ago, Earth's dimension had a barrier around it preventing transportation between itself and other magical dimensions, placed there by the Magix Council, who had wanted to protect its purity or something. The only way to get there was through a portal made by this necklace-thingy," Bloom said, pausing incredulously.

"Yes, we know this already – we took tests on it back in grade school. The necklace of the Nine Nymphs of the Magical Dimension, which creates portals when waved over a mirror," Tecna said steadily, brow furrowing in exasperation when she realized where Bloom was trying to take it.

"…Is anyone gonna explain this to me?" The red-head asked, waving the papers and laughing a bit whilst blushing.

"They don't have nymphs back where you come from? They're like priestesses. They worship the Great Dragon and other deities by making love." Flora said in a genuinely interested tone.

Bloom stared, _"Sex?_ As prayer?"

"Well, yeah," Stella said, "They disbanded after one of the nymphs died without electing a successor. That was the starting point of a _lot_ of court trials and rallies. Eventually the government decided that they didn't want to keep going with the tradition, since those eligible tended to be overly loose and perhaps a teensy bit irresponsible."

"Who was eligible?" Bloom asked, actually curious.

"Unmarried heiresses with _really_ good recommendations from their colleges who are photogenic, polite and outspoken – they have to be _really_ good with politics, 'cause they have a seat on the council, as one entity," Stella said, "If they were still around, I'd be halfway there to being one of them."

"_Seriously?"_ Bloom said.

"Well, yeah. It's really safe, respectful and it's not like it's prostitution – you're doing a duty to the realms."

Bloom shook her head, amazed at Magix' ability to be so _strange. _They had state-of-the-art technology, beyond-amazing educational facilities, but had kept the age-old tradition of sex-worship alive until eighteen years ago. Frighteningly enough, she could kind of see how it went, though – figureheads of religion stirred masses, and if the approval of the Great Dragon or whatever lie in the joining of two people, then the government was _bound_ to take advantage of that. It seemed they just got all 21st-century and practical once the opportunity presented itself.

But that wasn't even the point – the issue lie with Baltor. How had he gotten one of the nymphs to make a portal to transport him to Earth with her? And what had he done that required their leaving the magical universe? For now, all she could do was keep researching the sex-symbols. She only hoped she'd end up with more than useless information.

…

…

A/N: _"Are you sick in the head?"_ Well, did it ever bug anyone that they kept using the word 'nymph'? Did the writers not know where that came from? And why not? - different religions have different viewpoints, and this culture seems a lot looser about sexuality than others _(ahem – _their fighters wear miniskirts). And like Stella said, it's safe, respectful and done for the common good. (If you haven't already, go read Shrine Prostitue in the IY archive. You'll get what I'm saying.) But seriously! I get that sex is really about passion, in-the-moment stuff, but it's also sacred (note: New Age religions!) and I think this is something that could go deeper than the original series.

And I'm happy to talk about this, too. So drop me a line! (Short chapter is short; I'll write more once I've connected some dots.)


	13. Chapter 13

_Baltor placed the glass down on the table and twisted it slightly so the black design on the side faced the door. He'd been coming here every night since the Cloud Tower girls had started watching him, as the lounge provided a decent place to socialize, should one or all of them decide to come up to him. He'd been keeping contact with Bloom for the last two weeks, but nothing seemed to be happening on her end, besides a positively boring-sounding argument between Stella and Flora about the importance of sleep. He lifted the glass again, preparing to finish, pay and leave – he'd come back tomorrow night, and the night after that; he was all-too familiar with how seductive knowledge could be, and he'd made it quite obvious he had what the witches wanted, so they'd be the ones to approach him first._

_Just then, he caught the profile of the brown-haired one in the dregs of his drink. She looked around the room (as if she didn't know he sat _here _every night) and then walked over to him. Aware that holding up the glass to see who was behind him like a student cheating on a test, he placed the thing back onto the table and moved as if he was preparing to leave. She hesitated, then sat down next to him._

"_Hello."_

_She relaxed, "Hi. I'm Darcy; I was the one who you caught in Alfea a few weeks ago."_

_He looked at her, "I'll be the first to admit that I enjoy negotiating using pleasantries, but I'm afraid I do not have the energy for it tonight. But, out of curiosity, assuming I _didn't_ know you'd been tailing me for more than a week, how would the conversation have gone?"_

_She didn't even skip a beat. "I would've attempted to strike up a conversation about your preferred magic," she said, brushing her hair behind her ear with manicured nails – were those _spirals?_ And the eyeglasses, too. She'd made it too easy for him._

" – _And then weaved a hypnosis spell of your choosing," he said decisively. She watched him, not denying it, or looking shocked, but maybe just a bit wistful. He sighed, "Let's talk about the Dragon Fire. That's what you're after."_

"_You know that I'm a hypnotist, and yet you don't cease your bluntness," she said, removing her glasses and setting them down on the counter. Her eyes – a cold honey – looked at him coolly, but not defiantly. He realized, with a jolt, that she'd let her guard down. Whatever they needed the Dragon Fire for, she wasn't behind them one hundred percent – as she was supposed to be – and now, faced with him, she was unsure of what to do._

_Stupid girl. Well, alright. If she wanted him to act charming, he certainly could. He smirked and looked away, at the wall, permitting his bangs to fall into his eyes and gathering magic into his fingertips, "Fair enough. What are the names of those _delightful_ girls whose company you seem to keep. I don't believe I caught their names." In his head, he plainly stated the words to a tongue-loosening spell._

"_Icy and Stormy. They're my sisters."_

"_Ah. And all of you will be graduating from Cloud Tower this year?"_

"_Yeah. I want to go into Seeing."_

"_And instead you spend all of your time researching a lost power," he turned to her, staring at her face as warmly as he could, "What for?"_

_She stared back at him, face open – the _idiot – _and answered easily, "I'm worried about Icy and Stormy; they want to resurrect the Army of Decay."_

_As if he didn't have enough to worry about! "But you don't want to, do you?"_

_Her face changed from a melancholy expression to a look of cheated outrage as if he'd shattered a glass mask. So she'd broken his spell. "You bastard! I-I cannot believe I just - !" She got up, expression livid and, with the clattering of coins falling onto a bar counter, he followed._

"_You can't possibly be comfortable with what they're doing," he called after her, slowing as she did, "It's quite dangerous, dark magic," he murmured, a bit too close to her for comfort, but it couldn't be helped; if pedestrians heard the words 'dark magic', he'd be thrown into prison faster than he could kidnap Bloom again._

"_You would know," she hissed back venomously, holding her coat like she was about to strangle him with it._

"_And I'd like to bet I'm the only one outside of a professional counselor who could fashion influence-draining jewelry for your bosom-buddies," he said airily, "Besides," he held up her amber-tinted specs, "I have your glasses."_

_She stared at him, hope dawning on her face again. "What's in it for you?" she asked, to make it clear she wasn't giving him all of her trust._

"_Information. Think you can get into Cloud Tower's library?"_

_She snorted, "With the amount of time I've been spending in there? I practically run the place."_

_He smirked wickedly, "It's a deal."_

_She took her glasses from him daintily, and managed a decent handshake. If he was lucky, he wouldn't even have to lie._

[-M-]

Bloom rubbed her eyes in a _very_ exhausted manner, "Just fifty more books to go."

Musa groaned, "I don't think I can _survive_ another essay on blowjobs." Bloom flushed; Musa kept going, "I mean, it's great that I'm learning, Bloom, but I don't really think that will help - "

"_That's not why we're reading these and you know it!"_

The musician sighed and lifted another biography off the ground. Bloom looked around the room. The library books were _everywhere. _Thankfully, mid-terms were over with, so classes had lightened the load considerably and instead focused on field work – the other day, they'd journeyed into one of the parks on the planet and tried to listen for the 'Voice of Nature'. Flora was the only one who'd gotten it. Stella had come close, and Bloom might've been there, but Musa and Tecna appeared to have been numbed to The Voice completely. Now, Bloom attempted to lure anyone and everyone she could into reading the reference books with her (she was hesitant to go to Red Fountain again, in case Griselda got suspicious) and taking notes on the necklace when it appeared.

Currently, Bloom was reading about the second-to-last one of the Nymphs they'd narrowed it down to: Angelica of Perila. She didn't seem to have a lot of contact with the necklace, as little was said about her use of it, but it was better to be safe than sorry. As she finished up with the last few pages of the hardcover, Musa jumped up with a loud exclamation on her need for a drink and jogged out of the room. Bloom guessed she'd be 'drinking' until dinner and closed the book with a sigh, picking up the next one when the one Musa had been reading caught her eye.

"'_Daphne of Sparx',"_ she read aloud, mind buzzing with the talk she'd had with Faragonda months ago. What was it the woman had said? All communication with the planet stopped around twenty years ago. The Nymphs were officially disbanded exactly seventeen years ago, though talk had first begun around eighteen years ago when a member – _the only member she hadn't read about; Daphne!_ – had died without electing a successor. Could the two events be connected?

Bloom snatched the book and began reading as quickly as she could, grin spreading over her face. Yes. Yes, they were – this proved it: Daphne was on Sparx during the terrorist group's attack, and she'd had the portal-creating necklace with her. If she and Baltor had gotten to Earth before the shield surrounding the non-magical planet was taken down, then they must've gotten there via portal. But why would Daphne send only her and Baltor through the portal if the entire kingdom was in danger? Wouldn't that mean that they were, in actuality, much more important than mere citizens of Sparx? For the first time in her life, Bloom felt well and truly like a question mark.

Who was Baltor, if he was able to strike a deal with the Crown Princess of Sparx? And if Baltor had done something 'bad' and was infamous for it, then why would Daphne let him and Bloom go? More importantly, as someone who was transported with a – her stomach churned – possible criminal to a forbidden planet as a baby, who was _she?_

Bloom set the book down and walked over to the mirror that hung on the wall of the otherwise unoccupied common room. Bright-blue eyes, watercolor-orange hair, and an unexpectedly frightened expression stared back at her.

"What…did I just _do?"_

She needed Baltor. She needed an explanation, she needed _something._ Something familiar, something that wouldn't feel so scary and something that, maybe, if she could convince him to, would make her heart beat fast in an entirely _different _way. She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and quickly texted Stella to get the girls to cover for her. Then she walked to Musa's room and pawed through the girl's drawer to find the instant-action pills the singer had told each she had in the case of a sudden, unexpected need for protection.

She hoped he'd be home; the idea of sitting on a doorstep all evening with this feeling in her chest made her positively sick.

[-M-]

"Bloom?"

She didn't offer any explanation, just jumped, her open mouth meeting his, her arms snaking around his neck and her legs tightening around his waist. When they fell, her knees hit the ground hard, probably bruising, but it seemed he'd taken the brunt of the fall, and he wasn't really shouting at her for doing it. His hands rubbed her back soothingly and he did his best to gentle her hasty (and, unfortunately, sloppy) kisses. But this wasn't the reaction she wanted. Just as she was about to drive her point home by removing her shirt, the door slammed behind her.

_Unnaturally _loud.

She broke the kiss quickly and whirled around, her eyes meeting with the honey-gold ones of the brown-haired Cloud tower witch. The young woman stood tall, despite being barefoot, and stared at the two of them with one eyebrow raised, "Well, I can see why you say her personality's attractive – doesn't waste any time, does she?"

Bloom's face burned as she clambered off Baltor, "What's _she_ doing here?" He wouldn't cheat, she knew that, and it wasn't likely he was making bargains with them, but to keep this a _secret_ from her was stinging, especially since she felt awfully shaky from her discovery only half an hour ago.

"She's helping us," Baltor said, watching her worriedly.

"So you're on our side?" Bloom asked, mustering a mild expression and crossing her arms. She wasn't about to start a fight – that would take much longer than escorting the unwanted guest out.

"No way!" the witch said, bristling, "Besides, it's none of your business."

"Like hell!" Bloom said, "You tried to kill me twice – _four _times if you count that ogre going after Stella's ring! I _think_ that gives me a right to know what you're planning." So much for keeping cool.

"They want to use the Dragon Fire to summon the Army of Decay," Baltor said, quickly, much to the indignation of the brunette.

"Again with the – _urgh!"_ Bloom growled, hands fisting and palms unwillingly growing hot with energy.

Darcy's eyes widened dangerously, "What do _you_ know about the Dragon Fire?" she asked, her hands working as if she was shaping a sphere.

"I know enough to say that you have no business with it! What do you need Baltor for?" Bloom said, feeling her entire body fill with the flutter she felt just before transforming. She struggled to keep it down; she didn't want to go numb. As a result, flames licked up her arms, not causing damaged to her, but burning the fabric of her shirt enough to convince the hypnotist of their tangibility.

"_Whisperia,"_ the witch began chanting –

"_**Enough!"**_ Bloom turned to look at Baltor, who was glowing with his own angry, sinister energy. He glared at Darcy, "Leave. I'll speak with you tomorrow at seven about the crystals."

The young woman's eyes moved back and forth between the fire-users, "You both have it," she said in realization, "You both – "

"_Leave,"_ Baltor said firmly, his voice booming through the small space and causing both females to flinch. The witch backed away, unwilling to turn her back on either and picked up her shoes. In less than two seconds, she was out the door. Baltor turned to Bloom and, without saying anything, lifted her up, ignoring the winx still buzzing hotly over her skin and carried her into the bedroom, setting her down and resting his head tiredly on her shoulder.

With an uneven exhale, Bloom put her arms around him and tried to keep the questions away, unsuccessfully, "What _was _she doing here?"

He breathed out, "She and her sisters are addicted to dark energy, and she needs a crystal, which I can fashion myself, to absorb the influence from them. In return, I've asked for her to bring me books from Cloud Tower's library."

"Why?"

"They're a lot more liberal with their literary works than other places," he said, lifting his head off of her and knocking his forehead against hers, "What did _you_ come here for? You're upset."

"I…" But she couldn't find the words. The incident in his living room had just put her off completely, and she had no desire to go all the way tonight anymore. Bloom touched her lips softly to his, murmuring a request for romance.

He complied, his mouth trailing down her collar, pressing dry kisses against the cloth of her shirt and licking teasingly at the warm skin next to her burnt sleeve. She didn't tug on his hair, as she was prone to do when he did things like that, but pulled her garment off, unbuttoning her suddenly uncomfortable jeans and kissing him more, softly, lightly, so he wouldn't misunderstand. He didn't complain, removing his shirt when her searching hands asked and just watching her as she traced the muscles in his shoulders and abdomen, mouth exploring the planes of his pectorals, and fingers trailing over his hip bones curiously.

"What do you see?" she asked, when he gazed up at her quietly while her hands felt his ribs and her lips searched along his jaw for his mouth. Her hair fell down and touched his chest and he shuddered.

"You."

And just like that, she forgot about the witches, and Alfea and Sparx entirely. There was only them, him, her – _'Us,' – _and it wasn't anything like the kisses they'd shared on dates or the 'dear-God-distract-me-from-finals' heavy make-out sessions that they leaped into with high expectations for just-how-far they'd get before one of them brought it back to something safe. This _was_ safe and – how had she never realized it before? – not scary or big at all.

She guided his hands to her bra clasp and eased her underwear off under the rustling sheets. He didn't pause _just_ before and ask her if she was sure, which she was thankful for, because that would've been a moment of severe indecision, which she just didn't _want._ Instead, he kissed her tears away when they came and promised her it would get better after the first time.

And it did.

She fell asleep feeling completely _surrounded_ by him. A little tired, a little sore and a little stunned. But _so_ loved.

…

…

A/N: "Darcy? _Really?"_ Yes. She is necessary.

"Okay, what's with Bloom suddenly being all skittish about Baltor being a criminal?" It's not sudden (if you look at the last chapter, she feels unnaturally bad about him stealing), and it has to do with my plot… "Why is Bloom all 'What did I just _do?'"_ See above. (I feel like I keep pulling that excuse on you.) Basically, she just opened a can of worms.

"THEY HAD SECKS!" Indeed. Grown-ups do that sometimes.

Review!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: No, you're right, I died.

…

…

"_Where are we?" Tecna revolved in place, squinting to try to see what Timmy kept glancing up at nervously._

"_Um, well," he fumbled with his watch, clumsily rolling up his sleeve when it came down, eliciting a look of pity from the pinkette. "I know I haven't been really, um, well," he let out a sigh and glared up at the ceiling with self-loathing, then looked at her again, "I like you."_

_Tecna blushed, suddenly lacking her maturity, "Er, well, that's – "_

"_So," Timmy continued with what she could tell was mustered courage, "I pulled some strings and had this place booked for a few hours."_

"_What - ?"_

"_Computer – on!"_

_The ceiling lit up; a search bar blinked in wait._

"_I know you were interested in our planet's early experiments, so I thought…maybe…you'd like to look at them with me." With another few words he had them on another screen full of links and files._

_Tecna beamed. She was getting a crik in her neck from staring up, but didn't dare to look away. "This is amazing – I didn't find all these before," she said._

"_I kinda just put them together," he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly._

_She sat down and patted the spot beside her, "Where do we start?"_

_He smiled, coming over, "Anywhere you want." To his surprise, she took his hand and pointed to the first one._

_And that was how they spent the morning. Looking at data, laughing at particularly ridiculous findings, sharing quiet moments at the less humane experiments and slightly proud ones when they read about discoveries that improved life ("I didn't realize _we_ created Vitamin D tablets!" – "Well, if you consider the deficiency rate…" – "Ah."). Around noon they agreed to view one last result, then to leave for lunch._

"_You pick," said Timmy, who had relaxed enough to settle into a lazy leaning-on-hands posture in a proximity that made her face hot._

"_Project _Reve_," she read off the screen dreamily, squeezing his hand reassuringly and lying back against him._

_The ceiling changed, but too slowly. Timmy frowned. A large yellow shield blared at them: access denied._

_They looked at each other and she gave him a mischievous smile before shouting out a cheat code. Getting the idea, he followed with a perfectly-executed hack, and soon they were hurling every fail-proof security key and master pass they knew at it. Still, the screen refused them._

"_Huh," Timmy said, getting up and going to the back of the room to try getting in manually. "I wonder why it's not working."_

"_Is it still in court?" Tecna asked, coming up behind him and peering over his shoulder. Sometimes the experiments were reviewed with many lawyers involved, due to the few laws against experimenting with life. "No – these are all from nearly thirty-five years ago," she amended, "How strange."_

"_That's odd," Timmy scratched his head and put an arm around her, "Well, I'll ask about it at school; maybe my programming professor has a code I don't know about." He turned to her, "You hungry?"_

_She nodded and took his hand, mindful of its occasional bump against her hip, despite her festering desire to find out more about the locked experiment._

[-M-]

Bloom nearly floated into the dorm, smiling benignly when Tecna gave her a questioning look. "Just where were you last night?" Bloom continued grinning, poking her fingers through the holes in Kiko's cage to let the blue bunny nibble on her hand. "And what's with that 'cat who ate the canary' look on your face?"

Bloom giggled, trying to figure out a good way to word it…

"She had sex." Musa said in a jaded tone of voice.

Bloom sat up straight, "How'd you know?"

The musician raised an eyebrow, "That _look_ on your face."

"There's a 'look'?" Tecna asked skeptically.

"Well, no, but when you combine the sex hair with the 'I'm high' giggling and the fact that she took a birth control pill from my dresser…" Musa trailed off. Bloom attempted to smooth down her sex hair.

They were given approximately another two minutes of semi-awkward peace until a loud shout alerted them to a previously hushed-up argument in the next room. They looked at each other and rushed up to where Stella and Flora were glaring at each other in the bathroom.

"What's going on?" Tecna asked tentatively.

"Tell them what you were just doing!" Flora said angrily, _"Tell them!"_

Stella scowled. She unconsciously ran her hands over her hair, which she'd tied into a bun at the base of her neck. Oddly enough, she wasn't in any hurry to undo it, though she'd gotten on Bloom's case before about how hair was 'the crown' to every woman's 'inner princess', whatever that meant. Then the redhead noticed a much more worrying something: the blonde's eyes were wet.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she ventured, looking between the two girls, both upset, one on the verge of tears.

"She's been _purging,"_ Flora said, voice shaking. Bloom stilled, while Tecna looked from side to side, a bit confused.

"What's the big deal?" Stella attempted. "I _wasn't_ – I was just not feeling very well."

"What's purging?" Tecna said, sounding very uncertain.

"It's when you try to get what's in your stomach _out,"_ Musa explained, looking very uncomfortable now, "And it means we're in for a bitch of a semester."

"Why…?"

"On Earth, it's called anorexia," Bloom explained quietly, hoping not to provoke Stella into crying, "It's a disease that… It's when a person considers themselves…lacking in some way and tries to make up for it by controlling their appearance. By making themselves thinner."

Flora shook her head, "She's been purging all this time. Every time she ate…" And, all of a sudden, without warning, the brunette burst into tears, moving to hug the sun-fairy, who moved out of her way.

"I'm not sick," the blonde near-whispered and ran out of the room. A moment later, then heard the door to the dorm slam.

"Well, shit." Musa said, stuffing her hands into her pockets and staring down at the floor.

Flora gaped at her, looking like she could claw the DJ's eyes out, "How can you be so – so – ?"

"Depressed?" Musa suggested bitingly, glaring at the botanist, "'Cause I am. Just because I don't burst into tears every time I - !"

"Woah, woah! _Not_ the time for this!" Bloom said, waving her arms to try and diffuse the tension. Both girls deflated.

"We need to find Stella," Tecna said firmly, "Before she does something irrational."

"Where would she go?" Bloom asked. Flora shook herself and ran after the princess, pushing Tecna and Musa out of her way in her haste to follow. The remaining three looked at each other for another beat, then ran to keep up.

[-M-]

_Baltor entered the café warily, eyeing the two familiar witches sitting together inside carefully. They both smirked at him, heavily-eyeshadowed lids lowered to what could've been considered sultry, if the air around them hadn't been heavy with malevolence. Ignoring this, he gave his best smirk in return, and pushed past to the near-center, where Darcy was sitting alone, leafing through a book._

_He sat down quickly, doing his best to shake off the stares his presence had accumulated. Many of the witches, all looking about the same age as the three, were eyeing him curiously. Darcy, for her part, looked as if she hadn't even noticed. In fact, it seemed she hadn't even noticed him sitting down._

_He coughed._

_She raised a finger, lips moving like she wanted to memorize her passage. He looked over at the text, but quickly stopped when the giggles around him alerted him to the fact that he may as well have been pulling down the already-low neckline of her top, since it wouldn't have looked like he was doing anything different than what he was doing now. The brown-haired witch smirked a bit and put the book away, turning her honey gaze to him._

"_So. You were gonna explain?" she said in an almost nice tone._

_He didn't reply, only looking at a point several inches above her shoulder, at a girl who'd dyed her hair to an inky teal and was staring at them witch open intrigue. The hypnotist got the message, though, and pointed her palm at him, digits spread wide. He copied her with his opposite hand, and connected their fingers. A spark of magic connected them, and then they were the only two people in existence – everything else had fallen into a black void – and they'd acquired a murky violet tint in this world of theirs._

_Recognizing it as a way for them to talk so that only they'd be able to hear, he opened his mouth and began._

[-M-]

"So, what's going on?" Sky asked worriedly, "You said it was something with Stella?"

"Yeah," said Bloom, "We really need to find her. We found out she has an eating disorder – " she paused here, gauging the boyfriend's reaction. He seemed to only look worried, though, and not at all apprehensive about dating a girl with anorexia, so she continued, "And we got into a fight. She ran away, and some girls told Flora she got on a bus to downtown Magix."

"That's not good," he said, a real frown settling onto his face, "The witches hang out downtown on Saturday nights."

"They hold their Dark Arts and Crafts meetings at the Hex Café," Timmy pitched in.

"Not good," said Tecna.

Riven snorted, "No kidding. Come on, let's go after her."

Quickly, they climbed into the spacey airship.

[-M-]

_Stella looked around, huffing a little and drawing the sweater she was wearing tighter around herself. She was always so cold nowadays. The blonde traveled tentatively down the street, almost deserted except for a couple or two, lip-locked under the glowing streetlights. She sniffled and kept walking, noting dimly that she'd managed to wear a blister onto her right heel._

_Up ahead, a café displayed that it was open and Stella considered getting a coffee before coming home. She'd have to stay up late, anyway, since Flora interrupted her and night was really the best time to do it without getting caught and… She sighed. This was so messed up. For once, she'd like to eat some stir-fry without feeling guilty about it._

_A breeze blew past her, mussing the few strands that escaped her bun and she shuddered, undoing the thing and letting her blonde locks flutter around her. Even they were loosing their shine. Fuck. She shook her head and stepped into the café, freezing when she surveyed the scene._

_Witches. Every single table had two or three, and lo' and behold, her two of her favorite three were among the population._

_Trying to avoid eye contact, she straightened up and walked confidently towards the counter, placing an order for a coffee, making good use of the various poise and conduct classes she'd taken to look like every inch of her belonged. Hopefully, she could just take the drink and go._

"_Look what the cat dragged in," said a voice behind her, and a hand with five long, burgundy claw – oh, wait, _nails –_ slammed down on the counter beside her._

_She turned around, raising a well-plucked eyebrow and the stormcloud-haired girl. "Can I help you?" _'Thank God!' _she thought as a medium black coffee was placed delicately in front of her and she slid a bill over the counter._

"_Yeah. You can explain why you're walking onto our turf like you belong here," said another, deeper voice. Icy._

"_What are you, a dog? Gonna lift a leg and mark your territory?" she asked. God, she was getting as bad as Musa. She pushed past them and prepared to walk out when someone caught her eye. "Baltor?" she said bemusedly._

"_You don't come on to Cloud Tower turf without paying the price!" hissed the curly-haired witch, forcing her to look back at them if she didn't want to get caught by surprise._

"_Oh, believe me, I'm paying it. I don't think I've ever seen so many fashion disasters. My eyes – it burns!" She mimed pain and moved towards the door, subtly opening the lid of her steaming drink in case she'd need to throw it at someone. Around her, the other witches were looking excited at the prospect of a fight._

"_You think your eyes hurt? Wait 'till we're done with the rest of you," sneered the ponytailed witch, gathering power into her hands._

_Stella snarled and flung the coffee at the woman, drenching _and_ burning her, then pivoted and ran for the door. "You little shit!" Someone yelled behind her, but she didn't turn to look._

[-M-]

"She's on the move," Tecna said, "Heading west at approximately six miles per hour." She frowned, a worried hitch entering her voice, "Last location: Hex Café."

"Step on it, Timmy!" Sky urged.

"How do you even know that?" Musa asked, peering over the pinkette's shoulder at the device in her hand.

"It's keyed onto each of your magical signatures in case I need to find you after you've borrowed my notes without returning them." The tech whiz rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't your boyfriend have an apartment downtown?" Brandon asked Bloom.

Her eyes widened, "Stupid! Why didn't I think of that before?" She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and hurriedly pressed the speed dial.

It rang several times before Baltor picked up, sounding disoriented, "Bloom?"

"Hey!" she nearly shrieked, "Stella's in trouble and I think she's in your area. Can you try and find her?"

There was a pause and a murmur. Baltor's voice sounded grim, "I think I know where she is." His voice uneven-ed, like he was running, "I'm guessing you're on the way?"

"Half a mile left!" called Timmy.

"We're almost on top of her," said Bloom.

"Excellent. I'm still a good ways behind her, so you'll need to hold down the fort until I get there."

She nodded, distracted by the discussion at the driver's seat.

"Bloom?"

"Got it!"

"Be careful," he said, and hung up.

Bloom slung the phone back into her pocket and moved up to join in the argument, "What's going on?"

Timmy began, "There's a wall in the way. It's old, pretty useless, actually, but – "

"Blast through it," Brandon said without pausing, "Eraklyon can pay the damages."

Sky nodded to confirm what his bodyguard said, eyes glued to the screen that displayed what little of Magix they could see, looking like he was itching to grab his luminous, green claymore. Within moments, the miniscule section of the city was reduced to rubble. Slowly, the aircraft landed in the now-large space the absence of the wall provided them and the eight of them clambered out of the ship.

"Stella!" Bloom shouted, to the consternation of the crowd of witches behind her.

"Guys?" said the princess, looking amazed. "But how – ?"

"Can we save the love-fest for later and get to the action right now?" Riven asked with a smirk, hefting his wine-colored saber with a manic gleam in his eye.

Stella nodded. "Right." She gathered her winx and screamed: _**"Solaria!"**_

The rest of them followed suit.


	15. Chapter 15

"This is very, very bad," Bloom murmured to herself, watching the scene in front of her carefully.

Off to one side, Timmy and Riven were doing a fair job defending an unconscious Tecna from Icy and two other witches, who really wouldn't have been much of a threat on their own, but were using their meager dark magic to aid the glacial witch, casting small jinxes to make the ice slippery just when Riven raised his saber to deflect incoming crystals, and making Timmy's odd gun malfunction whenever he attempted to use it to free the fairy from the ponytailed witch's famed Ice Coffin.

Prince Sky was using his claymore to shield Brandon, Stella and Musa from the witches who couldn't use their magic to fly, while the other three were battling it out against those who could, using their force to beat the much larger herd of seniors back. Behind her, Flora was slowly slipping off of the edge of a building, eyes closed and looking radiant as ever, but likely suffering a concussion. And as for Bloom…

"Where do you think you're looking?" Stormy shrieked, raising her arms and creating a tornado, then sending it at the redhead.

She dodged, tossing several fireballs at the perm-headed witch, then performed a spectacular back-flip when a bolt of lightning was sent her way (the fact that they were flying helped). A scream tore through the air and Bloom gathered, without looking down, that it had hit one of the Cloud Tower students. The lightning-wielder didn't seem too concerned by this, though, and merely charged another one, a nasty smile splitting her face.

They ascended more and rotated, giving Bloom a clear view of Flora, who seemed to have settled into a stable but very uncomfortable-looking position, her head at an odd angle. Bloom charged up a beam of heat, sending it at her adversary, and attempted to get a little closer to her friend while the witch was distracted. Stormy, however, seemed to be having a very 'devil may care' attitude toward her surroundings today, and swept the heat aside with an unnecessarily powerful gust of wind. There was a relieved laugh from below; her fire had made contact with Tecna's prison and melted a good portion of it.

The Queen of Storms looked positively livid at that and gave a manic smile before turning around and letting a Voltage Slam destroy the ledge Flora had been lying on. Bloom's mouth worked furiously to chant to stop the girl's fall, but she was cut off by a large gust of wind slamming into her and forcing her back against the side of a building. The wind-user cackled, "Guess you friend's done for!"

Bloom saw red. She wasn't even sure how she knew what to do, all she felt was _anger_ and _a lot of it_ and that _Flora was hurt _and _so was Tecna_ and _dear God, everyone around her was in so much pain _and _she needed to __**protect**__them __**NOW!**_

The fluttering behind her breastbone was there again, only now it wasn't giddy or electric in its need to conduct power. It was steady and bright and firm and _hot._ Bloom gathered her arms in front of her chest, rising up off the building despite frantic winds attempting to keep her down. She could see flames licking up her form, outlining her legs, arms, torso, hair, making her look like a burning kite in against the navy of Magix' night sky, and then – she let it loose. _All_ of it.

She roared and the magic roared and she could feel all her winx channeling out, seeking any black, cancerous thing and overwhelming it until it _burned._ It felt _amazing,_ like she was doing every good thing in the world and suddenly she didn't want to stop, just wanted to keep screaming until every dark thing in the world was gone and there was just light.

"_Bloom!"_ Firm hands grasped her forearms, their owner paying the flames that were now twining themselves around him no attention, "Stop it! Before you use up your life force!"

Oh, she was tired. She was so, so, so tired.

Everything went black.

[-M-]

Bloom woke up to a tight hug from Flora and Musa, while Stella looked at her sheepishly over a steaming plate of stir-fry that Baltor had just made, evidenced by the smells of oil and fried vegetables in the air. The ten of them were sitting in Baltor's apartment, nearly on top of each other due to the small space. As it was, Musa had taken advantage of the limited seating to steal a spot on Riven's lap. The wine-haired boy wasn't complaining, though his face was lit in a brilliant blush.

Baltor came out of the kitchen with several more platters of food, passing Bloom one big enough to match Stella's (which was about twice as large as a normal portion) and passing the rest through the crowd, an upside-down box in the center of the shabby living room housing Earth-made soy sauce and a range of utensils, plus paper cups and soda.

"Eat," he said, glancing at Bloom, who felt too tired to even pick up her fork, "Your energy levels are _way_ down right now. You need food."

She huffed and put the plate down on her lap, reclining back onto the couch and looking around at everyone, "What did I miss?"

Baltor wasn't dissuaded, merely taking a seat close to Bloom on the couch and balancing the plate on his knee, winding egg noodles around the fork and spearing broccoli, then bringing it up to her mouth. Despite how childish she felt now, Bloom was too exhausted to argue and opened her mouth obediently. Baltor took this as a cue to keep going and continued feeding her while the rest recalled what happened after the battle.

"They all ran," Sky said bemusedly, "That light you were giving off, it did something."

"It did something to us, too," Flora added, "But not the same thing. We all felt…" She looked around, hoping someone would pick up the sentence.

"Refreshed," Stella offered. "It was like getting my daily dose of Vitamin D. Only…warmer. Like I was being fed." Baltor glanced at her, fork midway to Bloom's mouth, and she responded with a dubious glance, "Not that way, but…yeah…"

"What was that?" Brandon asked, playing lightly with some of Flora's hair while she ate.

"Fire," Baltor said, and set down the fork to make eye contact with those who were paying better attention, allowing Bloom to collapse back onto the cushions. "Bloom has an affinity, just like the four of you," he said to the fairies, "It's fire. The Dragon Fire."

Tecna gaped, "I've been doing research on that! That's one of the most – no, that's _the_ most powerful affinity…ever. I didn't even know it was possible! The Great Dragon can't have been an element herself!" Bloom didn't like the way she was being looked at by them now.

Baltor nodded, "The witches want this power to resurrect the Army of Decay."

"What's that?" Musa asked around a mouthful of _chow mein._

"The grossest army you've ever seen. However, it isn't really their fault. At least, not totally. I've been in contact with the middle sister, Darcy, and we've been discussing the magic the three are using. Cloud Tower's library _has _no restricted section. They have continuous access to books that contain dark magic, which is extremely addictive."

Tecna looked thoughtful, "The dark magic could be what's prompting them to raise the Army. And to do it, they need the Dragon Fire."

"Right," Baltor said, "They've been after me, because I have a version of the Dragon Power – " he spread his fingers wide and let a flame form in his hand, "And I've managed to get Darcy over to our side. Well, as close to our side as she can, what with her sisters being on the other one." Done with the display, he went back to feeding Bloom, who was now too exhausted to do more than listen and refused any more food. Baltor set the plate down and continued, "I'm working on creating influence-draining crystals that she can give to her sisters to rid them of the magic. In the meantime, she's been helping me by bringing me books and newspapers from Cloud Tower's library."

"But…if they've all been dipping their toes in dark magic, then why would she ask for help?" Riven asked, suspicion obvious.

Baltor shrugged, "She hasn't messed around with it as much as her sisters. And she's a hypnotist by nature – that might help her resist the pull of the magic."

There was a long pause. Bloom felt her eyelids droop.

"Well," Stella perked up, "I have had my fill of crime-fighting for today." She stood up and stretched, then paused when she noticed the eyes on her. Idly, Bloom noticed how odd it was to see Stella shy away from attention. The girl was a natural lover of limelight; watching her falter underneath everyone's speculative looks was strange and sad. "I…" she hesitated, "I'm sorry I ran away. That I kept it from you guys. I – I don't think I'm sick, but it's really hard sometimes and…"

Sky took the opportunity to take her hand and pull her in for a kiss. Then, he turned to the group, "We have something to say, too." He exchanged glances with Brandon, who spoke up.

"When I was sent to train at Red Fountain, my parents decided that my identity being known was too risky, and that having a bodyguard in the same unit wasn't enough to guarantee safety. So Brandon and I switched identities. _I'm_ Prince Sky, and _he's_ Brandon, my squire."

Stella blinked rapidly, "That makes some sense…I was wondering why you were engaged if you were just a guard – I mean – !" She looked at Sk – _Brandon_ – with wide, apologetic eyes.

The boy shrugged, "I'm used to it. But I really hope this isn't that big a deal. And…I really like you, Stel'. So I hope me not being a prince isn't – " He was cut off by a set of lips from a very enthusiastic fairy.

"Dummy," she said with a giggle and kissed him again. Bloom had to resist the urge to give a loud, sarcastic _'Awww.'_ Musa made gagging gestures in Riven's lap.

Baltor cleared his throat, "As long as we're sharing things…" He gave Stella a significant look.

She sighed and looked down, "You, um, might not want to keep dating me after this," she said, and gave a semi-frantic wave above her head to dispel an illusion.

There was little reaction, mostly because everyone was doing their best to stifle it. Her joints, collarbones and cheekbones were prominent in a ghastly way. The thick sweater she was wearing hid much more of her figure than everyone was used to, and now they could see why. Bloom imagined that if she could see Stella in her favorite green halter, she would probably look like an ascetic. Upon seeing the tears in the sunlight-wielder's eyes, though, she felt embarrassed at being so detached. Brandon, as a testament to his character, simply took her and kissed her again, though his manner of holding her changed to match her appearance; she was not being held like an infant, not a girlfriend.

That kinda put a damper on the evening. Afterwards, everyone was quick to file out of the flat, thanking Baltor for the rescue and the food, and for explaining everything to them. Bloom stayed behind, deciding to try and score a cuddle before she passed out from exhaustion and was rewarded with a mug of hot chocolate and some bad TV. Not bad for nearly dying a couple hours earlier.

[-M-]

Bloom woke up feeling really hot. She was lying on top of Baltor, who was still dead to the world, and underneath a thick blanket. And, she noted with some annoyance, she was getting quite sweaty.

She moved carefully, so as to not wake him, and half-ran for the postage stamp-sized shower. Almost immediately, she felt the effects of the not-even-a-real-run: her head spun and her limbs felt _very_ heavy. She paused and turned to grab something in the kitchen. An apple ought to be enough to keep her from passing out from the steam.

She turned the water on, deciding she wanted it scalding today, and stepped in, mulling last night over while she shampooed. Stella's anorexia was a real problem, obviously, but she showed she was willing to eat yesterday, when Baltor had shoved his veggie-laden stir-fry in front of her. They just needed to keep an eye on her and try and re-build her relationship with food.

The other thing, the more puzzling thing, was Bloom's apparent affinity to fire.

She turned off the water and stepped tentatively out of the stall onto the stained rug Baltor had brought back with him. Spotting a scented candle near the sink, she searched through the drawers for matches or a lighter. When she found the latter, she sparked it and held it near the wick, then eyed the result speculatively.

She held her hand over the flame, then moved it up and down gently, watching the little fire imitate her hand's height. Snickering – this was _fun!_ – she touched her finger to the light's tip and watched in amazement as her finger remained there, content and not at all burnt. She giggled and pulled the digit away, willing the fire to follow, and it did. It was delightful! She drew pictures – a flower, a smile, her name – in the air, marveling at how nice it felt. It went beyond childish amusement; the giddy feeling from before her transformations was all around her, without the frantic fluttering that came with the trigger. She grinned and pulled the fire away from the candle entirely, letting it circle her, twine around her hands and hair, light up her face the right way.

The door opened and Baltor raised an eyebrow at her. She guffawed and sent the stream of fire over to him, minding her towel dress while she wasn't occupied with the blaze, then watched with much amusement as Baltor began to 'juggle' three, four small balls of flame, simply making them float in a circle and pretending to throw them and catch them. He smirked and four became eight, and she could only shake her head at his immaturity as he tried to keep up with eight flaming orbs and keep his shirt from combusting. Then the ceiling caught fire.

"Oh. Shit." The now-seven balls of flame disappeared in mid-air as he tamed the conflagration with a little panic. Bloom kept laughing. He gave her an accusing look. Abandoning her grip on her towel, she moved over to give him a kiss, squealing in surprise when he picked her up and gave her a twirl.

They separated and he gave her an imploring look. She pursed her lips.

"Come on! You need the energy," he said in his best 'persuasive' tone.

"Which is exactly why I shouldn't be doing the cooking," she argued.

"I'll make it worth your while," he said, his hands sliding down from her waist to her hips and pressing her more firmly against him.

She huffed, "Fine. But you're doing the cleaning. And, so help me, if you get syrup on my bra _again…"_

He grinned and kissed her thoroughly.

[-M-]

"_Where _were _you?" Icy thundered, the temperature in the room dropping to below freezing. Darcy cursed having washed her hair before they returned; with the ice forming on it, it was likely she'd have to search through sophomore year's homework again for the spell to restore her hair to its prime. This wouldn't be the first time it snapped in cold._

_She shrugged, "Doing battle with them so soon after having traded information with him wouldn't have helped our case. He's still attached to the nerd herd. From the looks of it, his girlfriend's the one who kicked your asses?" They glowered, and she grinned. Oh, how she liked having the upper hand, even against her sisters._

"_So, what'd you find out?" snarked Stormy, pulling a soda out of a mini fridge._

_Darcy shrugged, "He likes to be confusing. In the meantime, I'm sneaking him stuff from Cloud Tower's library. How much can you check out on your cards?" They gave rough estimates (two or three books at a time) and she sighed. She was trusted – well, 'trusted'; the castle didn't _trust-_trust anyone – with eight-or-so books at a time, but she needed as many extra slots as possible to check more things out. She slid a piece of paper over her desk at them, "Pick out what you wanna check out and bring it to me. He and I are having dinner Monday to trade secrets."_

"Ooh,_ sounds like a _date!"_ Stormy sneered._

'As if I haven't thought about that twenty times since he suggested it,'_ Darcy huffed internally. To the other witch's face, she rolled her eyes, "I don't want to do anyone that ginger tart's been with." She gave them both a serious look, _"Don't_ forget to get me these by Monday evening. We need to get him on our side." _'And I need to get him to open up about what he's planning,'_ she added, eyeing the titles in front of her again._

_He was a wizard. What did he want with books about genetic experimentation?_

…

…

A/N: Heheh, we're finally getting to the really plotty stuff. Oh, and if that last-part-that-featured-the-main-characters part was confusing, Baltor wanted Bloom to make pancakes.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: No Bloom in this chapter. But please allow Baltor to explain _everything._ To the wrong person. Also: _so_ much uninteresting explaining in this chapter. I advise getting a piece of cake to help you get through it.

…

…

_Darcy fidgeted with her nails again. Why did they look so messy? She'd done a _spell_ to ensure that the spirals she liked to paint on them were small and dainty; why did they look so wiggly? And, for that matter, should she really have left her glasses at home? She wanted to reassure him, and direct eye contact was the best way to do so, but did she look too unprofessional now? By her foot, the large bag she'd brought with her slanted a little. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she pointed a finger at it, making the pile of books inside straighten itself and once again make the bag look neat as when she'd first come in._

_Outside, the streets were dark and the lamps cast a lovely, romantic light on the rosebushes that lined the sidewalks. Around her, silverware was clinking. Couples were holding hands and exchanging intimate words, business partners were doing their best to keep their voices lowered for the benefit of the young people, and a group of girls similar to the five she had a strong dislike for were giggle and clinking glasses every five minutes. Darcy sent a glare over at one who dared to give her a sympathetic look. She hadn't gotten stood up, dammit!_

"_Sorry I'm late," Baltor's voice rumbled from behind her, and she instantly straightened, giving him a cool, alluring smile as he sat down. As he leaned over the table, she caught sight of a hickey exposed by his open collar._

_She coughed and pointed to it with a finger, pleased when his fingers brushed over it and he looked embarrassed. She smirked, "Someone refusing to waste time again?" He looked even more uncomfortable now and she decided to begin the conversation before he realized they weren't friendly enough for him not to react to her comment in a frigid manner, "I brought the books," she nudged the bag with her heel, and he leaned over to examine its contents, "But I'm interested in why you asked for these titles in particular."_

_He frowned, expression becoming less open, "I don't think that's any of your business."_

_Of course it wasn't. But finding things that weren't any of her business out was her job within the Trix and she was _good_ at it. She presented an irritated expression, "Actually, I think I have a right to know why you're making me sneak books out of my college library." When he didn't answer, she pressed her point, "You offered to supply myself and my sisters with influence-draining jewelry. I haven't seen evidence of you making it. You've also cast a spell on me before, thrown me more than twenty feet into the air with an entirely unnecessary amount of force to merely remove me from Alfea grounds, _and_ you've threatened myself and my sisters._

"_I'm not saying I agree with what they're doing, but I trust them more than I trust you and I think you need my trust." She looked deep into his eyes, refraining from using her magic because she knew it would loose his trust in her completely, which she really didn't want. She wanted him to trust her, and not for the usual reasons, either._

_A waiter came over and asked for Baltor's preffered drink, replacing her empty cocktail glass with a full one and depositing menus awkwardly onto their silverware. She didn't open it, but ordered a garden salad to start and a small dish of pasta with scallops. After skimming the menu to match her quick order (which made her feel a teensy bit better about checking the restaurant's menu last night online), Baltor asked for the chicken and left it at that._

_There was silence between them until the waiter hurried over with a tall, glistening glass of dark beer and a slightly dry-looking slice of lime. Baltor kept his eyes on her while drinking, then sighed, passing a hand over his eyes and looking very weary._

"_I am going – to tell you a story," he raised his head to meet her amber eyes with his gold ones, "But before I do, I'm going to need a magical oath from you."_

_Darcy settled into her seat, looking much less excited than she was. "Depends on what kind of oath. I'm not going to agree to absolute silence."_

"_An oath of sisterhood," he said, extending a hand, "You will not be able to share what you know I consider secrets unless you truly believe it is for the good of those involved."_

_It wasn't even risky; telling her sisters would obviously be for their own good, as well as her own. She shook his hand, maybe a bit too tightly, and felt the magic bind them together. He nodded and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. She let him take his time. If this was going to be a confession, she didn't want to rush it and risk missing details._

_He took another gulp of beer and looked at her, "I assume you're familiar with the qualities individual species are known for?" She nodded. He did, too. "Fairies have a weakness; they desperately want to maintain happiness. Inform one fairy about a problem and she's likely to keep it from everyone else and just attempt to handle it herself. She'll keep up a front that nothing's wrong, and maybe the pressure will eventually grow so much that she snaps."_

_He began._

"_Twenty-or-so years ago, Zenith began developing technology to create stronger fighters. Unfortunately, they weren't able to do so. However, an experiment done on pixies had shown something interesting – remove the brain's limiter, and you're given seemingly unlimited energy. You could run and run and run and never get tired. You could fall and get hurt but not feel a thing. The problem with pixies was that there was no way to stop the effects. You were left with a numb subject that would keep going until they had no energy left and died from injuries that the body couldn't cope with._

"_It wasn't so for fairies._

"_When a fairy runs out of energy, their body reverts back to their humanoid form to prevent the fairy from 'burning out'. If the release of the brain's limiter was triggered by something, like a transformation, and could be treated after the transformation ended, the subject wasn't in as much danger. Given the nature of fairies to ignore the bad and only look at the good, and how the project mirrored this desire, it was strongly supported. Any groups that opposed this weren't given any thought, since they rarely had fairy supporters."_

_Darcy's eyes narrowed. So this was how the fairies had come to acquire their transformation's weakness. But what did he have to do with it?_

"_The project needed funding and Sparx' royal family stepped up to the plate. They wanted positive media attention; there was much questioning of the royal's right to lead at this time, and they needed support from other planets. They got it. Tourists, ambassadors, immigrants flocked to the country and its economy shot way up."_

_He stilled; Darcy looked to see the waiter deposit her salad in front of her and grind a small amount of pepper on top of it. She thanked him quickly and picked up her fork to get him to go away, though she thought she might be too excited to eat now. Sparx was the planet the Great Dragon was supposed to have resided on last. She looked at him to continue, but he looked meaningfully at her plate, "Eat your salad." Grumbling in her head a bit, she did as asked._

"_A little before all of this, another movement had happened. Three witches, known for meddling with some – " he lowered his voice, " – _dark_ magic in their early years, had been working to change the universe and alter the planets' governance. They wanted anarchy, not monarchy. In a world that knew nothing _but_ monarchy, their ideas were dangerous. People were happy, and the ones that weren't gave the leaders too much trouble for their liking. The witches were insulted and ridiculed by nearly every form of media; lots of money changed hands to ensure their ideas were thought to be ludicrous and destructive._

"_They hid away on a nearly-forgotten planet quarantined due to the plague that was ravaging its citizens. There was no government, no trade, no crops… No-one was paying them any attention; everyone was fighting tooth and nail just to stay alive. They found the body of a man who died from the disease, and began experimenting with bringing him to life. To create a stronger creature, they made him into a hybrid. Part wizard, part beast. They needed to re-animate the body and make it able to use magic, as well, and for this they used the dark Dragon Fire."_

_Darcy started, eyes going wide. He was this wizard, she was sure of it. Was this how he'd managed to get his hands on the Dragon Fire? It was given to him while bringing him back from the dead?_

"_The result wasn't what they wanted, but it was good enough. The man was able to think for himself, which was a disappointment – they had wanted a drone, to do their bidding without question – but he was like an infant and easy to turn into a fighter for their cause. While they trained him, they also raised an army of mindless soldiers from the corpses of that planet's dead. They were soon ready to stage their attack on the world._

"_Since Sparx was the planet with the most media attention at the time, that was where they would go. It helped that it was also a prime spot for Dragon Fire-hunting. I was – " he paused, judging her expression to see how she would react to the implication that he was involved; she didn't allow her expression to change, " – given lots of articles about the planet. And I despised the idea of altering the genetic makeup of women and girls to make them into better soldiers." He snarled this time, actually _snarled,_ and Darcy could begin to see the side that he frequently hid – the beastly side. "I was determined to get revenge for the rest of the world, and since the royal family's contribution would be causing deaths all over the universe, I thought it was fitting that they die in return. It was my job to assassinate the family during the raid on Sparx."_

_Darcy stiffened, hand tightening around her salad fork. She was listening to a murderer. She was sitting at a table in a restaurant with a murderer. She had spent an ungodly amount of time curling her hair for a _murderer. _But – and she wanted to slap herself for her idiocy; wasn't self-preservation what she should be worried about right now?! – hadn't her sisters attempted to take life more than once already? And it wasn't even for a 'good cause'. He was no more dangerous than them, and probably twice as lost. She remained in her seat, and continued to listen._

_He stared at her, looking like he couldn't believe she hadn't hexed him yet, but slowly continued, "I took care of both the king and queen. Both princesses had been put in a room with an incredible amount of spells on the door to protect them. The walls, unfortunately, did not have these spells. I blasted through and stopped Princess Daphne from using her enchanted necklace to escape. I believed her to be just as guilty as her parents. Her sister, however…"_

_He passed a hand over his face, "Bloom. She was one. She had already been contaminated by the gene – they'd created it to pass from mother to daughter – but she was innocent. She had no idea about _anything._ And I wanted to keep it that way. If I had a specimen with me, too, I could find a way to reverse the Dream Gene's effects. Daphne begged for her sister's life and offered to send us to Earth, where there was already democracy. I agreed. I assume she perished with the rest of the planet in the ice age."_

_There was still noise around them – cups clinking, mouths moving, cheers from the gaggle of girls Darcy'd glared at earlier. But a tense silence had descended upon their table. She hadn't expected anything like this. And now that she knew…she couldn't exactly walk away. She needed to make up her mind about what he'd just told her, and she was fairly sure it was a hell of a lot more important than the Army of Decay._

_She coughed, "So…what now?"_

_He looked thoughtful, "I will continue to attempt to reverse the effects of the gene. It is extremely unnatural behavior. If I can just find what's causing the cells to continue to grow instead of just die off like usual, I can begin treating the masses and allow the fairies to regain their senses."_

_Darcy stared down at her half-finished salad. She was spared answering his curious gaze by the arrival of their dinners. She took an enormous forkful of spaghetti and shoved it in her mouth, chewing slowly. She swallowed, still unsure. "Look. I don't know how to deal with that right now, exactly. You know what I'm dealing with. This is way bigger than that. I need some time to figure it out."_

_He nodded, somehow looking much older than her. "I couldn't really expect anything else. Still, while you're figuring things out, do you think I could use the books?"_

_She smiled._

[-M-]

_Darcy entered her dorm room slowly, feeling full, both physically and emotionally. She kicked off her heels – it felt _so good _stretch her feet – and hung up her long coat, running a hand through her slowly uncurling hair and eyeing the smudged make-up in the mirror. She wanted a bath._

"_Ah. That would be the last of you?" Darcy froze. She walked slowly into the room, coming face to face with Cloud Tower's headmistress. Ms. Griffin eyed her calculatingly, eyeshadow-ed, yellow eyes narrowed into cruel pinpricks. Without warning, she moved her hand over Darcy in a wordless spell; the room gave way to eerie, green light for a moment while the older witch evaluated the results of whatever she'd just done. "It seems you were not so…_vicarious_ as your sisters."_

_They'd gotten caught. Shit._

"_You still have residue of dark magic, but that's easily explainable, since you've been living with these two," the witch's tone grew extremely condescending as she looked over at Icy and Stormy, who were sitting silently on their beds. Darcy guessed that, for all their dabbling in dark magic, they were unable to break whatever obedience spell Griffin had cast on them. It was a little funny, really._

"_So," continued the headmistress, "I am going to give you a choice. You can either join your sisters in the Fortress of Light, or you can continue your studies here, provided you allow a close eye to be kept on you to prevent any more…experimenting." The pauses for dramatic effect Griffin used were certainly working; she was panicking a little bit now._

_This was the choice. She had to choose right now, between her sisters and Baltor._

_The murderer. The dark wizard who had killed at least two monarchs and kidnapped a princess. The beastly man who'd had somehow managed to make her feel freer than her sisters had._

_She shut her eyes tightly to block out the look of outrage on Icy's face, "I'm staying."_

…

…

A/N: I may actually re-post this chapter to add Bloom in. Maybe explain how Baltor got his hickey. *grins*

Please review!


	17. Chapter 17

"Icy and Stormy were expelled from Cloud Tower?"

"Yeah," Bloom answered, running a hand through her messy hair and leaning against the wall. "Baltor called me with the news last night. They were caught with traces of dark magic in their systems; Darcy didn't have enough of it to warrant an expulsion, so she stayed."

The girls were all lounging about their common room in their rattiest PJs, either sucking down smoothies or munching their way through bowlfuls of cheesy popcorn. Stella was close to oblivion on the couch, a quiet radiating from her side of the room. They'd come out to Ofelia, the school nurse, about Stella's disorder earlier. She'd been given a cocktail of potions then and there, and told to rest in bed for the duration of the day. According to Flora, around noon, she'd come in to check on Stella and found her halfway through an apple and on the phone with her father, insisting that she remain for the rest of the year. Everyone was a little shaken at the idea of Stella possibly leaving, but nothing had been decided yet.

With the homework out of the way (Stella's gathering dust somewhere on her bureau), they'd broken out the blender and junk food, Musa pulled a boom-box out of her closet, and they all flopped down on the couch to hang out. An hour in, Bloom got a call from Baltor and walked slowly back into the living room to drop the bomb.

"What does this mean?" Flora asked.

"Freedom's what it means!" Musa cheered, a fist in the air and exhaustion momentarily leaking away from her form.

"They'll be admitted into a de-tox program. Lots of time meditating, drinking their food to help cleanse the system, and a _lot_ of crystals," Tecna explained, leaning back against the couch cushions. "They'll be closely watched by the appropriate officials to make sure they stay out of trouble and, eventually, will make their way out into the world again, with some stern probation officers."

The corner of Bloom's mouth quirked up, "Sounds swell. Though I kinda wish we'd been the ones to put them behind bars."

"It's better this way," Flora soothed, "We won't get in any trouble through association and they'll be a lot safer, too."

"Meh. Safe-schmafe. We _so_ could've taken 'em. 'Specially with Bloom on our side – Miss Almighty Dragon!" the musician winked at her.

Bloom sighed, "I don't even know if me having the Dragon Fire makes any sense, though. According to Ms. Faragonda, the last place the Great Dragon settled was Sparx. And the research that I was doing before pointed to Sparx being the place Baltor and I were from, but…" she sighed.

"What is it? Doesn't it make sense, then – you're from Sparx, you've got its affinity."

"Well, yeah, but…" she sighed, "Well, look at you guys. Princesses, guardians of your realms. Sparx' royal family died in the terrorist attack; I'm not a princess. How did I get the planet's superpower?"

"It's not a – " Tecna began with a frown, but Stella cut her off, rising with a surprisingly awake expression on her face.

"Not necessarily," she said in a strange tone of voice, "You said something about you and Baltor escaping using that necklace, right? Well…wouldn't Princess Daphne want to protect her sister? Maybe Baltor was a servant or something who was near her at the time of the attack and she needed to stay and protect her kingdom, so she let him leave with you."

"…Maybe," Bloom ceded, "But the chances of that are…"

"Close to twenty-five trillion," Tecna finished for her, having done the math in her head.

Bloom pointed to the pinkette with a firm nod, "Besides, it's not like I'd have a kingdom. It's all…snowy."

"However, you have more of a chance than anyone else," Tecna turned to her, "And looking at the facts and the statistics…"

"I don't really want to consider this right now," Bloom said with a shake of her hair.

"Why not?" Musa questioned.

Bloom thought back to Baltor's elusiveness concerning where they'd come from. That wasn't something she wanted to pick at. What if something hideous was underneath? What if this secret was something dark, something that would make her regret the sarcasm and careless shrugs she'd been giving it previously. She liked where they were. She liked knowing she'd been raised and protected by her soul mate and that he loved her. It was a beautiful dream.

"We've got tons of other stuff to worry about right now," she said evasively, "I'm secure with what I know, and there's hardly a way to get proof of it."

"_He-e-ey, _I have an _ide-a-a._ Ask. Baltor." The DJ said, sarcasm dripping from the words.

Bloom shrugged, trying to shake off the suggestion, "I have. Lots. He doesn't remember." What could one little white lie hurt?

"That'll be annoying," Stella said, eyes closed in a mockery of sleep.

"It's fine, guys," Bloom said with a small, forced laugh, "I'm fine. What we need to worry about isn't me."

"It's getting to class on time tomorrow," Flora said, pointing daintily at the clock on the wall. Everyone looked, Stella managing to open an eye.

"_Ohhhh…"_

[-M-]

_Darcy slowly placed the small plant on the shelf in a melancholy gesture and stepped back to admire her work._

_Griffin had taken an unusual amount of pity on her and allowed her to keep the three-person dorm for herself instead of shoving her off onto some other pitiful pair of girls. Darcy supposed that, had it happened while she was still under Icy's thumb, she would've terrorized them into sleeping in the library, but right now she was just too tired. Icy and Stormy's things had been packed away and were awaiting their journey to the mail room tomorrow morning. The girls themselves were in a jail cell somewhere in Magix, surrounded by sleep-inducing amounts of crystals and the smell of cheap perfume. Darcy had visited them earlier that day, but what little bit of Icy was left refused to speak to her and Stormy had been completely out of it, smiling benignly at nothing and running her fingers over the heavy influence-draining jewelry she'd been forced to wear._

_The room's color scheme had been changed from Icy's cold teal-blue to her own favorite shade of royal purple, the asymmetrical, foggy window panes substituted with two large doors containing twelve dizzying, marbled, violet panes. She'd conjured rolls of shimmering mauve cloth and wrapped them around the sharp, pointed edges of the balcony rails and around the smoking chandelier's chain. The three beds were transformed into one cozy four-poster, the bookshelves multiplied until they took up the space left by the absence of two desks, and the tile and carpets replaced with dark wood._

_Without the negative effects of too much dark magic, not to mention constant frost and lightning, the space accommodated plants, so she fit several pots around the room and placed a small one on her desk, near her picture of three middle school girls – one with scuffed knees and bangs so spiky they could've been hit by lightning, another with her hair pulled back into two poofy pigtails, and a third with unfashionable bangs and big, round glasses that obscured her entire face – all giggling as they downed enormous ice creams. The triplets' joint bank account had also been used to pay for several more candles that now had the entire room smelling of cinnamon and sandalwood, two scents she attributed to Baltor, even though she'd never smelled either one on him._

_There was a knock on her door._

_Darcy sighed, trying to get over the constricting feeling in her chest when she saw the boxes of her sisters' stuff, and walked over to open the door for Ms. Griffin. The yellow-eyed headmistress stalked into the room with much of her usual presence, though it had somehow been toned down into something less imposing and more assertive than anything. She put gloved hands on her hips and stared down the room so hard, the hypnotist imagined the wallpaper would soon start peeling off._

"_Very nice," the older woman said, in a way that made it seem like she was only saying it so she could continue on to the next part. "Due to recent events, I've been reviewing your file," she turned back to Darcy, and the entirety of her eagle-eyed glare was shoved into the younger witch's face. Darcy flinched uncharacteristically. "I'm here to talk to you about your plans after school."_

"_Oh," the brunette replied hoarsely, "I don't know…"_

"_I expected that. As of now, your current grades in Dreams and Divination are lacking if that is the field you would like to go into." Griffin waved a manila folder near her head and made a move to sit down. The floor moved up to catch her and formed into a chair; another sign of the headmistress' affinity to the castle. The woman gave a lazy point behind Darcy. A similar chair, not quite as grand, but comfortable-looking had sprung up as well._

_Darcy sat down, "I hadn't actually made any plans for after school. I, um, thought I'd just attend several interviews this year and – "_

"_I know you haven't attended a single one," Griffin cut in with an eyeroll, "We'll overlook what you and your sisters were no doubt planning to do that had you so busy and will instead pay attention to what you _can_ do." The folder floated over to Darcy and opened itself to this semester's grades, the paper sliding over so that last year's grade totals could be seen. "Your grades last year were exemplary, and combined with your position as secretary of the Demonology Club, they were pointing to _quite_ a career path. However, this year's aren't as wonderful, I'm afraid."_

_Darcy felt Griffin's eyes on her, the other witch's expression calculating, and forced herself to look at her grades. As she'd expected, they were skimming Cs and she was failing Potions. She nodded morosely._

"_I'm not giving you a choice about rejoining the Demonology Club this year. Unfortunately, the position of president has already been taken, but it will add to your credentials. That, however, is not what I am here to speak to you about."_

_Darcy raised an eyebrow, feeling a little pleased when the indigo-haired witch's eyes seemed to change in slight approval of her action. With an inward groan, Darcy realized the lack of backbone she'd been showing prior to her headmistress' entrance._

"_I'm here to offer you a paid internship at Cloud Tower after you graduate. I can guarantee that, with these grades – " – a lavender finger trailed down the list of B-minuses and C-pluses – " – it is better than anything you will find anywhere else. The salary will be low, but food and lodging is included and you will be gaining much more experience to add to your resume once you earn enough to start on your Seeing career."_

_Darcy's eyes narrowed. Obviously, she wasn't being offered the job out of the kindness of Griffin's heart. She knew this, and she _knew_ that Griffin knew she knew this. She was being kept her for observation. Cushy, paid observation that was helping any career she might hope to have along by putting her name down on the tiny list of Cloud Tower's paid interns, but observation nonetheless. It wasn't so bad – she had nothing of the sort the headmistress was looking for to hide – but her relationship with Baltor made it difficult. Or this made that difficult. One or the other._

_But the entire reason for her and Baltor's relationship was Cloud Tower's library. She couldn't help him without it. And if she could get paid and manage a place to live without dipping even more into her sisters' finances, she wasn't about to say no. She looked straight into Griffin's cold eyes and straightened up, feeling her cool stare return to her face. She wasn't the lump-in-her-throat, weepy-because-of-a-tragic-love kind of girl. She was a hypnotist, a mezmeriser, and they _never_ let their true intentions show. Again, Griffin straightened with something like approval and Darcy wondered if, maybe, she'd misjudged the old woman a bit, if maybe there was more to Griffin than met the eye._

_But she didn't voice any of this. Nothing got past her newly-confident exterior._

"_I accept."_

"_Good," the indigo-haired woman snipped back, "Then you'd better get those grades back up to your usual As. If anyone heard I'd allowed a student with _this_ on my staff, the school's reputation would be ruined." The witch got up, and the chairs – both hers and Darcy's – disappeared into the floor. Darcy glared up at the woman from her place on the floor, resisting the urge to rub her now-sore bottom. The older woman grinned wickedly, "Stand up, Darcy. You have studying to do."_

[-M-]

_Icy struggled to keep her head above the peachy haze of the crystals. Their influence swirled around her, making her mind float off in a hundred different directions and it kept pulling her anger away from her._

_But that was all she had left._

_Her anger was her link to her power. It was what allowed her to be superior to others. The dark magic strengthened her, made her decisions absolute and unmerciful. The power made sure she had what she needed to back up her claims, and that her threats were nothing short of promises. Darcy was weak for not taking advantage of it when she had the chance._

_And Darcy was weakening _her.

_She shouldn't have been scared of the power. She knew what it guaranteed and how to use it and she knew _exactly_ what she was going to use it for. Absolute control. Once the Army of Decay had risen, nothing would stand in her way. Nothing would prevent her from showing every sniveling one of those _fairies _who was boss. _Especially_ that arrogant carrot-top that thought she could take on the Trix and get away with it._

_Although, she guessed it was just her and Stormy now._

_Darcy would pay. She would pay for betraying her sisters and siding with that _bitch_ Griffin – as if the hag hadn't used the books in the library for her own power-ups; how else could she have evaded Icy's magic when she'd tried to defend against the obedience spell? – and she would be cold and _dead_ before she saw how much that betrayal had hurt them._

_All Icy had to do was wake up. All she needed to do was find her rage. Meditate. Focus. Feel the hatred coursing through her – at Griffin, at the stupid fairy Earth-girl, at that pretty-boy son of a bitch _Baltor,_ and at _Darcy._ Her sister. The one who'd patched her up while Stormy worked herself into a panic after Icy'd fallen out of a tree, the one who'd patiently tutored her in Potions and Seeing in middle school, the one with whom she'd gossiped about boys with before Stormy had caught up, the one who was supposed to have already _broken_ the fucking influence of the fucking crystals._

_Something cracked._

_Icy heaved a satisfied groan as her hand ran over her jewelry and froze it, then crushed it, again and again and again until there was a fine layer of powder all over her, the chair and the floor. She turned her head – _owe,_ that was disorienting! – and looked upon Stormy, who was smiling like an idiot and holding her crystal in delirium. Barely restraining herself from giving her sister frostbite, she pointed an open palm at the stormcloud-haired girl's magical accessories and fisted it once ice had covered every inch. She didn't waste time with Stormy's restraints as she had with her own, immediately moving on to the cell door once she was done, only stopping once she'd made a sizeable hole for both her and Stormy to go through to wait for her sister to regain her right mind._

_As she'd expected, the younger woman became angry. _Very_ angry. Lighting danced around her fists and wind picked up around her heeled feet. She lifted an angry finger and pointed it ahead of her, paying no attention to the hole Icy had already created. The bolt of lightning shot through the bars and hit the wall opposite them, causing a loud alarm to erupt all around them._

"_Fuck," Stormy swore, raising a hand to wipe the drool she'd acquired during her trip to la-la land from her chin._

"_No," Icy said with a sinister smile, "I _want_ them to know. I want them to know before we get there. We're gonna wipe both Alfea and Cloud Tower _off the map_ and they're gonna _try_ to defend themselves." She raised her hands, frost crawling up the walls around her in response to her power and shot a swirling beam of snow at the guards who were just now running to them._

_Stormy copied her, blasting past the guards to the front entrance behind them and blowing what must've been half a ton of cement onto the street outside. Icy smirked and began levitating forward, her destination set in her mind. Every single person on her hit list would pay._

_Every single one._

…

…

A/N: Is it obvious that I'm starting to really like Darcy? She's my favorite character in this fanfic right now. It's because of the character development. Gotta be.


	18. Chapter 18

_Darcy grunted as she picked herself up off the floor. After only four hours of sleep, she was not happy to be roused again. She looked around to see what had caused her bed to throw her off, and met the scowling visage of her headmistress. Griffin's face and tower of hair were both a luminescent pink; she was glaring at Darcy, who was shakily standing up._

"_Icy and Stormy have broken out of their asylum and are both heading for Alfea. Faragonda has requested our assistance." The image fizzled away without waiting for a response, leaving Darcy to pick herself up off the floor and search, dazed, for a change of clothes._

_As she struggled into a pair of cropped jeans, Darcy realized that this wasn't her job as a student. Griffin was ordering her to help because she wanted to see whose side Darcy was on._

_The witch walked over to a mirror and stared at her reflection. She wouldn't be fighting in the uniform of the Trix. Witches didn't really have a transformation, but Icy was big on the whole 'organized chaos' thing and wanted them to be identifiable by their attire. People might not know the face, but they wouldn't forget the identical, letter-centered design of the suits. Now that she wasn't with them, she didn't have to wear it. She wouldn't keep her hair down, either, as it took concentration to keep it out of the way magically. Darcy snapped her fingers and watched her hair weave into a braid._

_She was about to fight two people she'd loved for years._

_Heaving a sigh, the witch exited the dorm._

[-M-]

Bloom's hand grabbed for the phone ringing obnoxiously beside her bed.

"Hello?" she said groggily.

"Get up. Get up now." Baltor's voice startled her awake.

"What's going on?" she said, reaching for her light and causing Flora to stir.

"The witches have escaped." Dial tone.

"_What?!"_

"What's going on?" Flora asked, rubbing her eyes in a manner that was far too cutesy to be anything _but_ on purpose.

"Icy and Stormy busted out."

"_What?"_

"Wake up those two," Bloom nodded towards Musa and Tecna's room, and walked over to Stella's to bang on the door. When there wasn't an immediate response, she barged in, running quickly over to the blonde princess' bed to shake her awake.

"Are you insane?" Stella asked, pushing her sleeping mask up into her hair, "It's, like, four AM."

"Icy and Stormy are out," Bloom said urgently, "Baltor called and warned me. We need to get ready; they'll definitely attack here."

"_Students and faculty, we have detected a threat in Magix. Please remain in your dormitories. You will be told when we have more information. Staff, please meet in the lounge to prepare defences."_

Stella's wide eyes met Bloom's, "What's going to happen?"

Bloom shook her head, "I don't know. But I think we should get ready. There's food in the fridge, so we should eat something now. Also, we should put on clothes that are good for running."

"Ooh! I have the _cutest_ tracksuit I found at - !"

" – That's great, Stel'," Bloom said, hurrying back out of Stella's bedroom to look for a hairband; a large mass of tangled, red hair wasn't the best for battling wind. Though she guessed it would come loose after her transformation anyway, if she lost power, she'd need to be able to see. She stepped into Musa and Tecna's double, "Hey, Musa, do you have a hair band?"

"Urh, eah, om ai 'ightshtand," Musa said around a mouthful of shirt, trying to tie a shoe with one hand while the other one fished around for a sock.

"Thanks," Bloom said, and almost ran into Tecna, who gave an angry squeak and turned to go in the opposite direction, for whatever reason. Tying her hair into a messy bun, Bloom walked back into her room to find some clothes, reassured when she saw that Flora had had the same idea and was braiding her mass of caramel locks quickly with exigency. The redhead hopped over to her closet and, disregarding that Flora had a front-row seat, threw off her pajamas and pulled on a sports bra, jeans, and a wrinkled T-shirt. When she turned around, she found herself looking at four faces with expressions that were probably mirroring her own.

She gave a shaky smile. "So this is it, huh?"

"Yep," Musa said, stuffing her hands into her pockets and causing her pants to sag a bit, "It's gonna be kickass."

"We're not supposed to leave our dormitory," Tecna stated with all of her attention on her touch-pad computer, deliberately ignoring the strain in the room, "However, I'm seeing a lot of movement out of the rooms and onto the grounds."

"Those will be the senior fairies," Stella affirmed, "First line of defense. Then the juniors, then the freshmen."

"Did anyone ever find it odd that this college only offers three years of school?" Bloom interrupted with a weak laugh. Again, Musa answered her crummy tension-breaking attempt with clumsy nonchalance.

"One moment…" Tecna delayed. Then, "We won't be discovered if we go," she confirmed, "There are no checks for identification being performed, and the battle lines are impromptu." Immediately, they broke, heading for the door in a quick jog and out, into the hallway, towards the most chaotic exit from the castle.

"Is there a plan?" Stella called.

"Nope!" Musa hollered back, above the din of several hundred anxious young women.

"The five of us have the most experience working together – stay close and keep an eye on each other," Tecna explained, satisfied when Flora nodded seriously in response.

Bloom closed her eyes, and let the fluttery feeling spread from her chest to the rest of her.

[-M-]

The first sign of the witches was an abrupt change in weather. The sky, which had already been a slightly less cerulean hue than usual (probably due to lack of 'happy thoughts' or something on the part of the students), turned from a slightly darker blue to gloomy overcast. Rain, then sleet, then hail fell down onto the fairies, chipping shoulders, noses, and ruining wings. Without the ability to fly, those who didn't have natural healing powers or weren't prepared to shield themselves or dispose of the heavy ice were forced to fight from the ground. Stinging winds buffeted the group next, tugging at hair and clothes so hard, a similar sensation would have been achieved by skinning oneself.

Unflinchingly, Tecna gestured for everyone to gather behind her, then thrust her left hand ahead of her. _**"World Wide Web!"**_ she demanded, and a glowing sphere _whishhh-_ed into existence around them, green lines criss-crossing like a virtual orb to surround and shield them. Judging by Tecna's shaking limbs, though, the defense wouldn't last long, so Bloom gathered her best, hearth-y warmth around herself, imagining a winter coat and gauntlets on her forearms to help with the summoning.

To her pleasure, when she opened her eyes, a shining, pepper-red dragon had wrapped itself around her, baring gleaming fangs at their attackers, who'd appeared before Alfea's entrance with joyless expressions.

"You. Little. Shit." Stormy snarled, lightning snaking up her arms, fizzing around her hair and making her look more and more like a comical cloud, only terrifying. The lines on her face just seemed to get darker and darker, her eyes larger and bulging, the ends of her hair blackening from the out-of-control electricity racing all along her figure, and her rage could be tasted in the air, perhaps because of the static. "You little fucking shit. You think you're all that, don't you? Because you just _happened_ to have the almighty _Dragon Fire?"_

Next to her, Icy was stoic. Her eyes had widened like a madwoman's, lips pressed together so tightly that they weren't even a mouth anymore, only a purple splotch on her face, like someone had carelessly waved a paintbrush next to her. Her claw-like nails were digging into her skin so hard that small pearls of scarlet were staining their perfect metal-blue, though the cold was making them freeze just as quickly as they bubbled up to the charged air.

And no matter how much she hated these girls right then and how well she knew that they were outnumbered, not to mention outmatched by Faragonda, she was terrified. Her warmth-projecting dragon was growling soothingly, perhaps trying to reassure her or itself, but she was still uncertain in her stance. Because how could she possibly be some almighty dragon princess if she didn't even know how to deal with Baltor's secret?

But it was okay. She would get through it. Yes, she could feel the hope stirring a flame inside her – they would fight and they would win. And she and Baltor would work it through. They had to. They had to, they had to.

Icy moved first, the contact so quick that Bloom was immediately shoved out of her precariously balanced position. The witch's hand – nails still decorated with small, dark rubies and palm coated with frost – wrapped around the fairy's neck and brought her face up close so that their noses touched and Bloom could feel the woman's breath (unnaturally warm and sickly sweet in this weather) caress her chin.

"I am going to rip that power from you and watch you _burn,"_ the blue-haired woman hissed, nails sinking into the hot skin and collar of Bloom's shirt, the blood droplets melting against the – now dissipated – dragon's heat and staining her aquamarine turtleneck.

For a moment, Bloom forgot who she was. "You want to see me burn?" came the gargled response, a bit of sarcasm lacing the words. Power danced at her fingertips and toes as she braced herself against Icy. Her eyes narrowed. _"I am __**living fire!"**_ And the witch was blown back – though, to everyone's surprise, not as far as they'd expected.

Baltor gripped the burnt-pink arm of Icy to keep her from falling, the furrow of her brows and rigidity of her frame hinting at how painful it was. "That's the thing about fire," he said, with no humor in his words, "It _burns."_ And then, without another word, he flung Icy as far into the forest as he could with the help of a blast of royal purple flame and speedily followed her.

Bloom's eyes flickered over to the wide-eyed countenance of Faragonda (and another woman with inky violet hair and poison-yellow eyes whom she vaguely remembered to be Headmistress Griffin thanks to an article on Magix' education), but she didn't have long to evaluate the older woman's expression, as a bolt of lightning was quickly hurled her way. The five fairies turned their focus away from the drama and to Stormy, who conjured _five_ twisters and sent them at the girls.

Stella's staff obliterated one, then two, but wasn't fast enough to get to Flora, whose plants couldn't defend against wind, and the poor girl plummeted. Tecna and Musa joined hands and sent a fantastically clashing beam of purple and green at the witch who redirected it with a smirk, Tecna's organized charge now fueled by crazy energy. Bloom launched several fireballs at the witch, too pleased when one singed her already-black flyaway hair even more. With a beastly roar, Stormy sent what must have been a hurricane contained in something the size of a billiard ball at her, and it pounded into her stomach.

The shrieks faded away.

[-M-]

"_I'm not going to pretend I gave you fair warning," Baltor said slowly, watching Icy pick herself up off the sand. Her lip had busted and she licked it compulsively as she watched him, sometimes spitting sand in his direction when she found some. The beast in him was enjoying this far too much, only complaining that he wasn't getting physical _enough, _that he should've been tearing into her with his hands and not his magic._

_The girl still did not say a thing._

"_But I'm also not going to pretend that there was no warning at all," he spat, violet fire appearing in his hand and jumping readily at the girl, who effortlessly blocked it with a conjured crystal. "Eighteen years of my life went into that child. You _cannot have her!"

_His control snapped like a band stretched too tight._

_Wings burst out of his back and claws forced their way from his fingers. It was painful, like fingernails digging into him everywhere at once, but it was welcome. There was no need for rational though, now. She would die. The witch – who was watching him now like a scared rabbit – would die here, where she stood, and wouldn't ever come near him or _her_ again. His muscles tightened and released, springing him twelve feet into the air and down onto the snow queen._

[-M-]

Light.

Yellow. Soft, curling and flowing around a young face. A decorative orange mask sat delicately on the bridge of the woman's nose, not even the eyes showing through the pumpkin-yellow mesh that covered the eye holes. A worried, pink frown. A wet cheek.

"_I'll always miss you, Bloom. Baby."_

Light.

"_Bloom?! BLOOM?! _Talk! Please!" Stella's voice shattered and brought home the feeling of a giant _hole_ in her stomach. There wasn't anything quite like it, really. She could literally feel parts of her stomach _missing._ But it was nice to not have to face it, so she still didn't open her eyes.

"_Bloom._ Baltor's secret. You…you can't die, because you have to hear it." The voice was tough and had a permanent sarcastic lilt, but she recognized it, somewhat. "He – He was the terrorist organization that attacked Sparx, your home planet. He killed your mother and father and he took you from Sparx. But the bastard _loves_ you, so you had better as _fuck_ not die on me here, when I'm supposed to be _defending_ Alfea!"

Bloom's eyes shot open and she stared up at the grimacing image of Darcy, her mind racing despite the now all-too-present agony in her stomach.

Baltor had betrayed her.

Before she even knew him, he'd betrayed her.

Baltor was a murder and a liar and a _monster_ and she'd made love to him.

She was filthy.

She had to find him.

Somewhere, though she didn't know from where, she got the strength to ignore the pain in her stomach and sit up, then to flutter her wings to that she didn't have to use her legs. She couldn't feel any part of herself. Tears, snot, and probably spittle, too, ran down her face as she locked her eyes on the last place she'd known Baltor to be – the forest. Shakily, she moved forward, at a snail's pace, ignoring the frantic calls of Stella and Darcy's unreadable gaze, because she had to find him.

And, like magic, he appeared, clothes torn and dangling and hair completely in disarray, with Icy hanging limply in his arms, eye and cheek bruised and ribs completely caved in on one side. He watched her, torture on his face – he dropped the corpse of Icy and staggered towards her, but she stopped him.

She couldn't exactly point her finger with the lack of fine motor control she had right now, but the four muscles in her arm worked well enough to make it clear who she was talking about.

"I…hate you."

And then everything went black again.

[-M-]

_Baltor sat with his elbows on his knees, fingers entwined together tightly enough to change the color along the joints. His chin dug into the back of his hands, maybe hard enough to bruise. While his clothes had repaired themselves, as a kind of automatic procedure, his hair was still slightly tangled, though it may have been difficult to tell from a different perspective._

_A bird chirped._

_Darcy appeared, clothes and hair still burnt from Stormy's lightning. She'd taken care of her sister after Bloom had passed out, psyching the younger woman out and allowing Faragonda and Griffin to trap her in a Flying Dungeon. Icy was still alive and receiving intensive care for her punctured lung. Both would be heading to the Fortress of Light after their conditions had stabilized._

"_Icy had a punctured artery in her right leg." Perhaps injury enough to kill her from blood loss alone._

"_I'm sorry." He wasn't._

"_Don't be." She knew he wasn't. "She needed to be put down. At least this way, she won't be able to harm herself anymore."_

_He didn't move._

_Darcy shifted, "So…are you going somewhere now?"_

"_Yes." He stood. "I can't let her continue living with that parasite. If nothing else..." He looked towards the fairy school. _

_Darcy nodded, honey eyes still on him, watching carefully. For the first time since she appeared, he looked at her. She was proud, standing straight, relaxed, shoulders back and confident. But she was also defensive. She'd just lost her sisters and actively committed violence against her younger one. And she looked far too lonely._

_He took a step towards her, putting both hands reassuringly on her shoulders and touching his lips to hers for one brief moment before pulling back. "Did you feel that?"_

_She looked at him, a certain relief in her eyes, "Almost."_

"_Think what it will feel like, then. When it's with someone you care about."_

"_I care about you."_

_He shook his head, "Not like that."_

_She nodded, and he knew she understood. "Where will you go?"_

"_Everywhere. Probably Zenith."_

_Her mouth set into a firm line, "You're going to need me."_

"_I am."_

_She looked at him in surprise._

"_I am going to need you _here,_ to keep an eye on Griffin, Faragonda and Saladin. And – and on Bloom. Keep her safe. Keep the new witches out of trouble. Get close to Griffin."_

_Darcy nodded, satisfied with the role. "That'll be difficult. Griffin hasn't had a VP in, like…ever."_

"_Then you'd better get started."_

_He hugged her, and permitted her to kiss his cheek. She stepped away and disappeared, leaving a glowing violet outline of herself which, too, soon faded. Baltor looked toward the castle._

"_Be safe."_

_He vanished._

…

…

A/N: THE END. Well, okay, there'll be a sequel, but this is the end for now.

Give me reviews and tell me what you thought of it! Because it's DONE!


	19. Chapter 19

Whispers carried down the dark main hall of Cloud Tower's castle, infecting anyone who heard them with the subject matter.

"Did you see her?"

"The Deputy Headmistress?"

"_Darcy."_

The name carried weight.

The first to assume any sort of high position after Griffin. The first – and only – to receive membership to the Company of Light after the events of last spring. Reportedly the most intelligent member of the Trix – the sisters who broke out of their prison, seriously injuring eight guards, then attacked Alfea – before she left them. Graduating Cloud Tower with some of the highest test scores in the books, she quickly turned and became a member of the faculty over the summer, and was promoted – insanely quickly – to her current position. Just a notch below Cloud Tower's most powerful.

The reputation wasn't the only thing that intimidated the returning students. The prominent woman could give out such a threatening air that fear was _expected _among the less experienced witches. Her eyes – the color being the only thing different from her sisters' – could turn your heart to ice. When she glared at you, you could feel yourself becoming smaller under her gaze.

'_And,'_ thought Bloom as she trailed behind the straight-backed, high-heeled, no-nonsense woman who was only a few years older than her, _'This epitome of warmth and trust is my therapist.'_

It was obvious to anyone who knew to look for clues as to what Darcy's specialty was. The tinted glasses that made her eyes such an interesting focal point. The spirals in her earrings, the way her surroundings deferred to her, how her voice could carry _any_ meaning she wanted it to – the woman was obviously a hypnotist, and a very good one, too. Her proficiency in psychology was what made her so good and this was what made her such a perfect candidate for what Faragonda, Alfea's headmistress and Bloom's stand-in guardian, decided Bloom needed.

An expert on knowing how to extract secrets from those who had them.

Not that Bloom withheld any information voluntarily. Anything that would help them catch Baltor was theirs to take – she _definitely_ didn't want to get in their way. At the first mention of the Company of Light, Bloom had jumped at the opportunity to be involved in the hunt for the dark wizard, but Faragonda hadn't allowed it.

Just as well. It gave her more time to be the irresponsible, stupid teenager she was – and here, she thought back to the innumerable parties on Solaria (she'd stayed with Stella over the summer) where she'd been drinking, smoking things that smelled strongly of strawberries, and fooling around with any member of the same sex she could find, unwilling to go far with any boys. The Winx had disapproved, but seemed unable to stop her. The best they could do was accompany her and make sure everyone believed she was as young as she looked and, if possible, younger.

Darcy wasn't so helpless. She wasn't so worried, either, since her relationship with Bloom had never actually turned into friendship. It was strange – and unsettling – but she trusted the witch. A whole lot more than she trusted Faragonda, actually. Any information given to Darcy by the Company of Light was immediately shared with Bloom, even though she wasn't supposed to, and any confessions of unladylike behavior at their weekly sessions weren't met with any sort of disappointment at all from the hypnotist. What was there to be disappointed in? The older woman hadn't invested anything in the redhead, except maybe a determination to keep her mentally healthy and a lot of time, but there wasn't any expectation for her.

And that felt _good._

After the incident at Alfea last spring, everyone walked on eggshells around her. Stella and Flora had open arms and shoulders to cry on, but Bloom didn't _want_ to cry and couldn't understand why they wanted her to. Musa was a bunch of avoidance of any subject remotely close to Baltor, so talks with her were usually awkward and full of jokes that weren't funny. Tecna was completely hopeless; she'd been making up for her lack of understanding about what to do in a situation like this by reading books on the subject, and her knowledge usually spilled forth unexpectedly, where it just didn't apply.

She loved her friends. She really did. They just didn't _get_ her. Darcy did.

[-M-]

"Anything new to report?" the witch asked from behind her desk, a pen hovering above a notepad in anticipation.

"Actually…" Bloom started, tapping her index fingers together, "There might be." But it was weird.

Darcy didn't say anything, just kept watching her coolly.

"I've been having dreams." _A man crying… _"And they've been…not like regular dreams." _Water dripping off black hair onto a pale face…_ "They're scary." _Something dark. Something really evil, scuttling around…_

"Nightmares?" Darcy's voice pierced the flashback. Bloom could feel her magic creeping into her head, drawing out the images.

"Not exactly. It's not like _I'm_ the one feeling scared…" Bloom paused, fingering her hair. The ends were starting to split and that wasn't good.

"Do you want to try and re-capture them?" Bloom could hear the 'you _should_ try and re-capture them,' in her tone.

Visions were common. Nothing major – maybe a dream about a classmate spilling tea, or the face of your husband. What your child's laughter would sound like. The things she could recall, though, they weren't exactly like that. They didn't feel as harmless as regular visions. She was the keeper of the Dragon Fire – these were warnings. She'd suspected something like that, but she _really_ didn't want to get into it.

"No."

"Well, too bad."

Damn. She'd been thinking too long. Glaring daggers at the hypnotist, she lie down onto the couch that had been designed for the patient, and stared up at the ceiling.

"What can you remember?" Darcy's voice soothed. The swirling designs on the purple ceiling looked like they could swallow her. The soft cloth of the couch calmed her slight irritation at having to do this. When did Darcy's voice loose that sarcastic tilt?

"Flapping."

"Wings?"

"Not wings. They can't be wings. Squealing. Laughter."

"Whose laughter?"

"A man's. But…there's crying, too. A boy's. No…they're the same person. One is weak and the other is strong." Bloom's voice shook, "One is terrified and the other is – " She opened her eyes, "I want to be done now."

Darcy nodded, her eyes not on Bloom, but on her pen. It kept writing notes, observations.

"What do you think?" asked the fairy.

"They're visions, definitely. It would be weird if they weren't." The witch reached into a drawer and pulled out a notebook, tossing it to the redhead, "Write down what you remember, even if you don't want to. We'll figure out what it means."

"What do _you_ think it means?"

"Something bad's about to happen. But this is Cloud Tower – something bad's _always _about to happen." The therapist sighed, letting the pen drop onto the notepad and float together into the still-open desk drawer. "I know we're supposed to be here for another half-hour, but I don't want to be here. Go to Alfea. Unpack or something."

Bloom snorted, "We'll be in the same dorm; it won't be that hard."

"Yeah, but if you keep hanging out here, the witches will see you. Then they'll wonder what the hell a fairy's doing here, and then I'll tell everyone you're a schizophrenic to keep them sated."

Bloom scowled, "You don't think I could pull off the 'witchy' look?"

"The fact that you called it that just negated any chance of you ever pulling it off. But seriously," Darcy said, standing up and opening the door, "Get out of Cloud Tower."

Bloom felt the urge to flip her the bird, but stifled it. In the castle, she was Deputy Headmistress and could probably get her in trouble with Griselda just for fun. And it wouldn't be _ladylike._

[-M-]

Baltor's return had brought about a big change in Magix. The reappearance of a feared terrorist whom everyone had long believed to be dead, trapped on Sparx along with his victims, had the same effect on Magix' easy-going nature as a wet sack might have on a candle. And though day-to-day actions remained the same – people still hung out in parks, still partied, still shopped – there was this underlying tension in the air. Security had increased tremendously after Icy and Stormy's attack. People were being scanned on their way into the dimension, on their way into the schools, _and_ on their way into important buildings, like the museum or town hall.

Luckily, the inter-school secret tunnels were still A-okay for getting from place to place without delay, as they ran from directly inside one school to another only. As far as Bloom could remember. Regardless, they didn't require checks if you were just running around underground from school to school, so she located the tunnel Tecna had helped her find from Cloud Tower to Alfea that would bring her almost directly to their dorm room, dropping her off in one of the larger hallways.

"Who are _you?" _

Bloom froze, turning to gape at what had to have been the _only_ person apart from Griffin to have actually noticed she was in the school without prompting. The witch was a little awkward in her stance. Her hair had been cut short and dyed red, with some blue beaded in. Freckles, completely uncharacteristic of a witch, dusted her nose cutely, and added to the off-beat appearance her cropped pumpkin T-shirt and many, many bracelets gave.

"What's a fairy doing here?" the girl's brows furrowed, "Wait…you look familiar…"

Her photo had been _Magix Monthly_ after the attack, along with a long article about the Dragon Fire, her 'lost heiress' status, her tragic relationship with Baltor and her current position as ward of Alfea's headmistress. No shit she looked familiar.

"_You're _the girl that Baltor kidnapped!" And there it was. "Gosh, sorry. That was rude of me." The girl blushed, then covered one pink cheek with her hand to try and cool it down, smiling sheepishly. "I really should learn to think before I talk. My name's Myrta. I'm a junior here at Cloud Tower." She extended a hand, fingernails decorated with chipped black nail polish.

Bloom took it warily, giving the girl a nervous smile, "You're surprisingly polite to an Alfea student on your terf. I'm Bloom, by the way. Junior, too." Due to the strange school system here that completely skipped over sophomore year. Or maybe it skipped over freshman year and everyone was just mistaken in calling their first year that.

"I'm kinda a hipster here," the other redhead said with a shrug, shaking the fairy's hand nicely, "Getting into the school rivalry is too mainstream."

Thinking of Musa, Bloom cracked a smile, "I have a friend who might agree with you on that. About the mainstream stuff, not the rivalry stuff. She's pretty anti-witch."

Taking it in stride, Myrta just nodded, "Yeah, it happens. But I think fairy magic is kinda cool. Dead useful, anyway."

"Can't say I disagree," Bloom said with a smile. This was refreshing. Someone who wasn't dancing around the kidnapping topic, for once.

"So, what're you doing here?" the witch asked, pausing in her walk alongside Bloom to scratch the ears of a cat who was lying leisurely on the floor.

"Meeting with the Deputy Headmistress." Please don't ask about therapy. Please don't ask about therapy.

"Really? She's scary; how'd it go?"

"Not too bad, I've been meeting with her over summer."

Able to piece two and two together, Myrta connected her knowledge that their new Vice-Head was a great psychologist to the fact that Bloom had had a traumatic experience in spring and left it alone. "Where're you off to, now?"

"The library. The inter-school tunnel that I need is there."

"Those are still accessible?"

"I think they became more public knowledge since the attack. Now that security's so high, everyone who needs to be able to travel back and forth between the schools freely, namely teachers, are at a big disadvantage."

"Makes sense," Myrta almost tripped when another cat rubbed against her legs.

"Why all the cats?" Bloom said, peering around the shelves – they were now in the library – at the felines lounging around.

"They like the quiet," the junior witch said, picking up the kitty that had been wiping whatever it had on its fur off on her legs and giving it a good scratch, "We don't only have cats. We have all sorts of critters around, but this is where the kitties mostly hang out. It's warm, mice come to chew on the food people bring in here because it's against the rules, and almost _everyone_ here is a cat person."

Bloom stared at the clowder gathering around them, "I think you might have an infestation."

"No more than Alfea has with pixie pets." Touché.

They arrived at the blank space of wall that Bloom needed to leave quite quickly after that, and Bloom waved goodbye to the young witch as she walked through the now-intangible wall to go down into the dark tunnel. It was nice to make new friends.

[-M-]

The trip back to Alfea took about twenty minutes by foot. When she stepped out of the hidden door – here, she could see across the hall that a mirror reflected her entering through a less-than-posh doorway. It felt every bit as old and mysterious on her hands as it looked in the mirror, though the mirror managed to make the tunnel behind her look much more inviting than it actually did. All the stalactites hanging overhead didn't make for pleasant surprise face-high-fives.

Outside, the sun was settling into its eleven-to-noon-ish position, so Bloom knew she wasn't too late to start unpacking. But she'd learned a really great spell for it over the summer, so taking a few minutes to re-explore the castle couldn't be too…eh, who was she kidding? She just didn't feel like being particularly into others right now.

Though it was kind of an inconvenient time for it – being the first day of the new year and all – the conversation with Myrta had worn her out. The witch had been considerate and refreshing, but she'd also been another person, and being around people all the time was proving to be exhausting. She and Darcy had actually had a long conversation about this over ice cream, eventually coming to the conclusion that, as Baltor had been a reprieve from talking to _everyone,_ but was also a trusted companion with whom she could relax, he'd been a safe retreat from everyone who she spoke with without being isolating. Now that he was gone, the need for some chill time manifested itself under the label 'alone' rather than 'with boyfriend', thus leading to her reclusive tendencies. She just needed an hour or two to be about her.

Something flying, golden and giggling whirred past her. Reflexes kicking in, she turned to stare at the…seahorse? _'No,'_ she corrected, upon seeing the wings and some of the more distinguishing markings, _'A Fortune Fly.'_ If she caught it, it would tell her her fortune.

That sounded like 'me time' to her!

"C'mere, little fella…" she cooed, waving her hands in a non-threatening manner.

Not buying it, the pixie pet whirred away, its movements causing a tinkling sound to echo in her ears.

'_That's not gonna help you get away,'_ Bloom thought, smirking, and gave chase.

The little shit liked messing with her, deliberately teasing her enough that all her attention was on it, then making her lose focus to instead avoid running into plants or walls. By the end of the chase, she was sweating, _and_ had sustained some pretty annoying rug burns from multiple falls. Like that was gonna stop her. _'Still,' _she considered, _'A fortune probably isn't worth getting lost on the first day.'_

This was a strange part of the castle. Unlike every other part of Alfea, it was kind of…tucked away. But secrets were her specialty (she'd gotten someone who traditionally hated her guts to spill a huge one last spring, after all), so she merely dusted herself off and continued on, giving the Fortune Fly a smirk as if she was _so _done with the game now. But then something caught her eye.

The mirrors on the wall to her right weren't reflecting what they should've been. Instead, portraits and tapestries and closet doors could be seen in them. Feeling herself get a bit excited (and she could tell it wasn't even precisely the good kind of excitement. She remembered this excitement last from crouching down behind garbage in an alley and trying to overhear what a dangerous ogre was saying), she picked up her pace, finally coming to the end of the hall and facing away from the reflection of a _very_ intricate door.

Tingles spread all over her; she gathered winx into her hand and used the magic to open the invisible entrance…

…and found herself in the most _beautiful_ library she'd ever seen!

Figurines of stars and moons hung from the ceiling, light coming down from creatively cut glass and making shapes on the floor and walls. It was a fantasy-lover's paradise; the smell of books and magic was everywhere, with the _sound_ of it seeping through just enough to echo nicely in her ears. Bloom had to resist the urge to stroke the spines of the books lined up around her, unwilling to find out what kinds of magic were so sacred (and perhaps unpleasant) that Alfea had locked them up.

"Sorry, but I'm not doing any more psychic readings today," came the sound. Bloom looked up to see an actual pixie, blonde hair wound up in two buns on the sides of her head, flying down towards her in spirals, leaving a trail of glitter behind her. "You'll have to come back later." Said the pixie as soon as she'd gotten to Bloom's eye level, crossing her arms sternly and frowning. Bloom guessed that she wasn't the only one to discover this room today.

"You're Concorda, the Psychic Pixie, aren't you?" she asked. "I read about you in one of the books about Magix' history. It said you were bonded to Alfea's magic."

The pixie kept watching her shrewdly, her lips pursing, then thinning as she considered the redhead. "Maybe I _will_ do your reading. You have a lot of karmic energy around you."

Bloom winced, "Is that a good sign?" She and karma had never really gotten along.

"Not usually," the fortune-teller said with a sympathetic smile, "But there's also a very bright light around you. You have the strength and power to overcome whatever your destiny is. And," she added, summoning a miniature floating sitting area for herself, complete with a floating crimson crystal ball, "You're surrounded by loyal friends." Placing her hands in front of the ball to better get the 'feel' of the future, Concorda closed her eyes, "I can see that the bonds you build with people are strong, even if they are not happy ones."

Bloom fought the urge to make a snarky remark. The woman (she could say that, couldn't she? Even though the 'woman' could use her hands as a bed if she put them together like she was cupping water?) was just doing her job.

"I see you making a new friend," the pixie continued, her brows furrowing in concentration.

"Yeah, that happened this morning," Bloom said, "I met a witch named Myrta at Cloud Tower."

"No," the fortune-teller said, her mouth working to offset the disturbing feeling of Seeing, "A _new_ friend. A fairy princess with long, flowing hair and a bond to a sleepy baby pixie." Bloom raised her brows in surprise. Just how social was she going to be this year? "Oh, but I see darkness. Lots of darkness…" the blonde trailed off, her voice growing anxious, "A cliff – a dark cliff – "

_A dark cliff with large, torn curtains hanging down, with no wind to make them ripple. Small streams of pure water emptied down around the fortress like fountains, adding to its mystique, but not taking away from the terror, the odd energy-draining sensation, like someone had reached beyond her wings and back and taken a firm grip on her spinal column, refusing to let go – _

" – _I sense your friend is in terrible danger!"_

Bloom snapped out of it, trying to focus on the pixie's words. "That doesn't sound good…"

"Your fate is entwined with this place," the guardian said, leaning away from the crystal and placing a hand on her forehead in exhaustion. "I believe this is the meaning of the energy I can see around you."

Bloom bit her lip, deciding not to ask if the name Baltor had come up at all during the gaze into the crystal ball.

[-M-]

"_Bloom! _Where have you _been?"_ Stella said, wringing her hands.

"Getting dressed," Bloom said with a smile, hopping over while trying to adjust a stocking. Stella had gone ahead and set out an outfit for her on her bed, so when she came back to the dorm and realized how late it was, she was granted the small mercy of not having to raid her closet to find what it was she'd thought would look good for a back-to-school dance.

"Took ya long enough," Musa said, coming over and giving her a tight hug as a greeting. The others followed suit, until Bloom choked out a 'please let go' and they separated.

She smiled, "I missed you guys what've you been up to?"

"Upgrades," Tecna.

"Aromagictherapy," Flora.

"Getting some lyrics written for that song I finished last week," Musa.

"Do you even need to ask? I've been staying glamorous," Stella winked.

Bloom smiled, glad at the small familiarity. There was still a lot of nervous energy there. Everyone was unsure about saying the wrong thing or not saying anything at all. Regardless, it was a bit comforting, to have four – no, wait, there was Darcy – five – and maybe Myrta now – six – the Psychic Pixie had mentioned a fairy – _seven_ people behind her. Even if she hadn't met one of them yet. The redhead smiled and went around, giving each girl a tight hug to get the message across.

That seemed to do the trick, and everyone relaxed, asking her what she'd been up to. Which, unavoidably, lead to the discussion about her dreams, the prediction made by Alfea's guardian, and her sessions with Darcy.

"So there'll be another adventure this year?" Flora said, rubbing her side anxiously. She'd injured her ribcage badly after getting hit with one of Stormy's tornadoes. It had been healed quickly, but supposedly acted up every now and then.

"Were there any hints about what would happen?" Tecna asked, her handheld computer ready in-palm.

"I've been having dreams about a cliff, and the psychic mentioned it," Bloom said, spreading her hands out to try and emphasize her meaning, "There's a lot of darkness and it just…drains your energy."

Looking up from her search, Tecna sighed, "Well, there's any number of things that could be. Cloud Tower, the Omega Dimension, Shadowhaunt, Sparx," the computer whiz paused a bit here to gauge Bloom's reaction, and then continued, unperturbed, "Any one of them has cliffs, darkness and drains energy."

"Let's cross our fingers and hope it's the one right in our backyard, eh?" Musa said with a grin, then turned to wave to the guys, who'd just arrived on their bikes.

Bloom turned to Flora, "How's it going?" She didn't have to specify.

The brunette sighed, fiddling with a lock of hair, "He's been getting friendly with his betrothed, Diaspro, over the summer. I'm pretty sure it'll be over soon." 

"We're here for you, honey," Stella said reassuringly, "Like you were there for me last year." Stella's anorexia was pretty much kicked in the balls over the summer, with the return to Solaria and its much-beloved pastries. Her diet had become regular, and though Faragonda liked Darcy to check up on her now and again, she was most definitely recovered now. Food wasn't an anxiety any longer, or, at least, not a huge one.

"Hey, ladies," Brandon said, putting an arm around Stella and engaging in a thorough lip-lock, just to remind everyone of how _very_ much he had a girlfriend. As if Bloom hadn't been living in the same castle that received all the roses he'd sent the blonde princess over the summer.

"Hi," Musa replied back dazedly, attention absorbed by the way Riven's muscles seemed to have grown their own muscles. Said alpha male was preening, and flexing none-too-discreetly. The relationship was still, irritatingly, friends-with-benefits. By now, both Bloom and Tecna wanted to shoot him.

Speaking of their resident programmer, the pink-ette was giving her favorite geek a friendly kiss on the cheek, much to the blushing boy's glee. "H-h-hi," he stammered out, putting a hand on Tecna's arm. Clueless computer geek that he was, he seemed to have no clue about how to go about talking about romantic things, but, at the moment, it seemed that the girl didn't mind very much.

And as for Flora and Sky, they'd had given each other a peck on the lips before turning to the others and waiting patiently for the hormone-fest to stop. Bloom coughed and suggested they make their way over to the dance floor, to Brandon's consternation. Walking and making out at the same time was difficult.

[-M-]

Well, look at that.

She was drunk again.

By now, it was dark, the teachers had cast enough spells on the area to prevent fornication, but not much else (who'd managed to get alcohol past the security, anyway?) and the dance floor had descended into a mass of people in a dizzy stupor, rubbing together and smelling of pheromones.

Which was probably not going to help her, since she had classes tomorrow. Come to think of it, maybe it was _today._ Oh, but this was looking too familiar…

Bloom eyed the people in the near vicinity, finding herself placed exactly where she'd been all last summer. She knew exactly what to do here, in the screaming, moaning crowd. Taking the arm of a nearby dancer, not even glancing at the face, she pressed herself against him (him? Well, that was a first. Usually they were women) and attached her lips to his neck, leaving sloppy, wet kisses all along the side, down to his neckline.

Two hands pulled her face away, but she merely closed her eyes and smashed her lips against his, tilting her head until their noses were in the right position and she could feel the dizziness subside a bit. Again, though, his hands pushed her away.

Bloom frowned. What was with this guy? Unwillingly, she pulled herself out of her haze to ask him why the hell he didn't want to make out with her, when her eyes focused on his face.

Sky stared at her, lots of worry in his blue eyes. And then, only four _inches_ away, Flora watched the exchange with one of the most concerned expressions Bloom had ever seen her wear.

This was bad. It was worse than bad, actually, but she didn't want to deal with it. That would be contradictory to the alcohol in her system. Turning away from the faces, she dived again into her drunken haze.

And promptly blacked out.

…

…

A/N: Sooo, I've decided the 'sequel' will actually just continue to be part of 'Too Easy', since the summary fits and I just don't wanna write another one. Enjoy! (AND REVIEW!)


	20. Chapter 20

"_Hello, ladies," came a purr. It had a strange, dual-voiced quality, like two people were talking at once; one a teenager, with frequent whines and voice cracks, another a maniacal adult. "It's been a while, I hope the wait hasn't been too much for you. Of course, it's not like you've got anything else to do!" He laughed, the maniac taking over and sending clouds of not-birds up in alarm._

_A pigtailed pixie in a small shiny number with two curling pigtails scowled and opened her mouth wide to retort, but another one, clad in a ballgown levitated over quickly and bodily restrained her, pointedly looking at a third, this one with hair an appealing shade of magenta, cut short and neat._

"_We were just wondering when you'd be back," the third pixie said, tugging nervously on the keyhole-shaped decoration on her shirt, "We don't have much to talk about between us, since we know each other. H-How've you been, Lord?"_

_The man's beguiling smile froze for a moment, like he was a glitching program, then widened, small, pointy teeth sneaking over his lips. "Not too bad. It _is_ a shame that you're not doing too well, though. Perhaps I'll stick around longer, so you can enjoy my company…?" Without meaning to, the magenta-haired pixie began trembling and levitated away from the edge of her containment chamber a small distance before catching herself and staying put. The man's smile grew crueler, "Thought so._

"_But let's enjoy this while we can, mm? Tell me about your village? I want to hear _all_ about it."_

[-M-]

"Oh, I think she's waking up."

"Bloom? Are you okay?"

Bloom sat up, then immediately regretted the action. Slowly, her surroundings swam into view. Stella, Flora, Musa and Tecna sat around her, eyeing her carefully, and on the bed behind them lay another girl. She blearily looked around at the four of them, thankful when no-one said anything. Her head hurt too much to compute sound.

"Let me just be the first to say," Musa began with a smile, "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR BULLSHIT. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO KEEP THROWING YOURSELF A PITY PARTY, AND YOU'RE CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO DO IT IF THERE'S ALCOHOL INVOLVED. YOU OBVIOUSLY CANNOT HANDLE YOURSELF AROUND DRUGS, DRINKABLE OR OTHERWISE. YOU ARE GOING TO – "

The rest of the tirade was muffled by Flora's hand, which was just fine by Bloom. She curled up where she sat and rocked the throbbing away soothingly, then, when it was bearable, looked up at them again. "I didn't do it out of self-pity," she said quietly, so that she didn't hurt herself again.

"Really?" Tecna asked her, lips thinning to a line, "Explain to us then – about _everything,_ not just last night. You're drinking, smoking things you shouldn't, I'll bet there were hallucinogens in your system at some point this summer, you're fooling around and apparently don't care who it's with!" Her voice rose at that, stare becoming much more piercing, but she quieted for the next bit, "Flora and Sky broke up."

Bloom gaped, then rapidly turned to the nature fairy, who was avoiding her gaze and placing a wet towel on the forehead of the girl in the bed to her left, "H-Hey, I was just being stupid, you can't break up over something like that! You _know_ he wasn't the one who initiated it - !"

"That's not why," Flora said quietly, smoothing curly brown locks away from the comatose girl's head, "Just…watching someone else kiss him…it really hit it home. We're done. It's not going anywhere. It never was, and we need to stop before I get attached to someone who can't return my feelings."

Bloom gaped, upset, yes, but – and this was the worst part – she couldn't tell if it was because Flora was melancholy or because she was involved in this. Since the summer, the friends-with-benefits thing had sort of been…out there. Away. It didn't have anything to do with her.

Nothing had anything to do with her.

Who the hell was she? What happened to the person who _cared_ when her friends were feeling bad and didn't care whether she was involved in the mess or not? Because Bloom knew for certain it wasn't something Baltor could've taken away; _she'd_ been the one to hang out with the girls, the one who'd lived with them and fought their battles with them and researched her origins with them. Baltor may have been a part of her life, but he wasn't a part of her life with _them._

And then Bloom started crying. Big, fat, ugly tears that made her already-smeared mascara run down her cheeks, and made her mouth widen unattractively and her nose drip.

Because it was _okay._ Thank _God_ her boyfriend (well, she couldn't exactly call him that anymore) wasn't a permanent fixture in every aspect of her life. She didn't want that. She didn't want to be bringing her guy – _any_ guy – along with her to every hangout, or checking their plans before she called her friends, or thinking about him while she was supposed to be doing this. Spending time with her girlfriends. Spending time with _herself, _on her studies or her hair or whatever job she got eventually.

She took a gulp of air, "I'm _sorry._ I'm sorry I haven't been with you guys all this summer, and that I haven't been there for you. I've been acting stupid and irresponsible and not at all okay, and – and – I deserve yelling. Especially since I'm hungover," she finished.

The four exchanged looks. Flora looked ready to forgive and forget, but Stella stopped her, fixing her with an unnervingly serious stare. "That's not the only reason you're stupid," she said, tone cold enough to stop everyone in their tracks, "You and everyone else pounded it into my head last year – you can't keep stuff to yourself. If you have a problem, if you're hurting, to _tell_ us, damn it! Keeping quiet – that's what got you here! So _stop it!"_ she finished loudly, shrill voice making the occupant of the other bed stir. The sun fairy giggled sheepishly.

Flora sighed, "Honestly, Stella, even Musa didn't wake her up."

"C'mere," the musician said, arms going around the redhead, and pretty soon Bloom was in an inescapable sea of pretty girls and perfume. And it felt great.

"Question," Bloom said, after the hugfest was over and she was nursing a cup of water Tecna had fetched for her, "Who's that?"

"Dat be your mysterious new friend," Musa said, "Long flowing hair and – " she gestured to a small pillow, where, Bloom noticed for the first time, a small creature was sleeping, " – a sleepy baby pixie."

"'Great danger' was right," Tecna said, flipping open her handheld computer and going over her findings to make sure she didn't miss anything, "She came in with her magic severely drained, sporting all sorts of cuts, bruises and some burns, and very bad trauma. She's woken up a few times, always delusional and scared."

"Woah," Bloom said. "I don't think I've ever heard of that being a side-effect of visiting Cloud Tower."

"We'll see what she says when she wakes up," Tecna said decisively, snapping the mini-laptop closed. "Musa and I stayed with her last night, and Flora had this morning, so I guess it's between you and Stella now."

The princess fixed Bloom with a look that she knew from a year of rooming with her.

"Can I at _least_ take a shower?" Bloom asked, putting all her meager energy into looking pathetic.

[-M-]

"Thank God for the invention of hangover spells and the Realm Wide Web, huh, Kiko?" Bloom said, running her fingers through the bunny's soft fur as he snoozed in a small box she'd brought along for him. "And now…for the news, and some coffee," Bloom said, focusing her magic on a glass sitting on the bedside. It morphed into a dumpy but usable mug, an incantation had it full with steaming, caramel-flavored breakfast beverage. Satisfied for the moment, she turned her attention back to her computer.

"Is that for me?" a weak voice inquired.

Bloom's gaze shot up, meeting two orbs of cinnamon-brown. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not too long," the girl replied, caution mirroring that in the redhead's tone, "Do you have any food?"

"Just this," she passed the bedridden fairy her coffee, then looked up a spell for food. "One moment. I'm not much of a homebody, I think all I can make is pancakes, even without magic," Bloom said apologetically. The other girl just watched her, blowing gently on the coffee, then gulping it, and stroking back the curls of the pixie by her bed.

"_I want a yummy breakfast,_

"_But haven't got the time to cook,_

"_Before these cakes, hunger won't last,_

"_Too good to not taste, but look."_ Bloom paused, scrolling through the description, _"That's_ what you give me? Who wrote this, an eight-year-old?"

"Good 'nuff for me," the brown-haired fairy said around a mouthful of pancakes, dipping a small piece in syrup and handing it to her friend. "I'm Layla," she said, giving a giant swallow, "And this is Piff."

"I'm Bloom. My friends found you outside the forest – you're in Alfea, Magix."

"The school?" Bloom nodded. "I – I don't know how I got here, exactly, but thank you for taking care of me anyway."

"No problem. A psychic pixie told me you and I were gonna be great friends," she gave the girl a thumbs up, "So, friend, wanna tell me why you're here and look like you got into a fight with a tornado?"

[-M-]

Bloom shivered, "I've seen that place. I've had nightmares about it."

"I know the feeling," Layla said, eyes dark and voice raw with memories, "There's nothing like it. It's like…"

"Like you'll never be able to stand again." Faragonda finished, tone comforting but firm. "I know. I traveled to Shadowhaunt for field work while I was a magical doctoral student. But I didn't come close to seeing the Prince of Darkness," she said, silver eyebrows furrowing at Layla's hunched-in form. "Don't worry. We do have someone ready to go after the pixies. Riven is a senior specialist at Red Fountain School for Heroics and Bravery, and has signed up for a quest into enemy territory. Of course, he'll be accompanied by – "

"_Us,"_ Musa said firmly, putting her hand down hard on Faragonda's desk, "You are _not_ sending him into Shadowhaunt alone!"

"Of course not," Faragonda said, adjusting her glasses and coolly looking at the angry fairy, "Dark magic would be Griffin's area of expertise, but she is, regrettably, unavailable due to her responsibilities at Cloud Tower. Thankfully, Deputy Headmistress Darcy _is_ willing and able to accompany him on a rescue mission. _You,_ however, Musa, are not qualified to venture into Shadowhaunt, witch accompaniment or not. To do so, you must pass an extremely hard test – many of my classmates failed."

"Miss Faragonda, _we want_ to take that test! We can't let Riven and Darcy go into Shadowhaunt alone – not when they might have to go up against the Prince of Darkness!" Bloom insisted, hands spreading out to convey her meaning, "Two people who barely know each other can't possibly be able to stand up to that place!"

"That is unnecessary; both are ready and have proved they are well-equipped to stand up to – "

"Then let _us_ prove that _we_ can do it!" Stella said, joining Musa and putting both hands down on the toffee-colored surface of the desk.

"The pixies are my friends," Layla added, "And whether or not I pass the test, I'm going back in. At least this way you could make sure I'm getting the tools to survive down there."

Faragonda pursed her lips, meeting the eyes of each girl in front of her, finally looking at Bloom, "You're sure you want to do this?" she asked.

The redhead nodded, "Positive."

The headmistress sighed, "Follow me. We'll take it in the Great Hall."

[-M-]

"_Realm of good and light erase; _

"_Let evil darkness fill this space!"_ Faragonda's arms came down, bringing with them a terrible blackness, the soft, musty air of underground, and a horrible, flesh-crawling fear. "Now, _try_ to survive!"

Bloom gathered the fluttering, panicked feeling behind her breastbone and let it spread through her, the familiar heat giving her muscles back some of their strength. She hadn't even realized how crummy she felt before the familiar numbness that came with the wings took over. The leftovers from last night were completely gone, and she was ready to kick some monster ass! She lifted off the ground, feeling a little better now that she wasn't physically touching any part of the caves around them and looked to see how the others were doing.

Stella and Tecna were backing away, taking shelter behind the four transformed fairies – they hadn't been able to call on their winx enough to help. Layla was charging a beam of pink energy and looking around defensively, Musa was listening for something and Flora was floating down next to the untransformed girls, still wearing her sparkly, pink get-up, but looking completely spent and confused.

Bloom fixed her attention on a series of panting and growling sounds coming from a cavern up ahead, "Incoming!" A fire formed hot in her hands and she launched it at the monsters, getting some satisfaction from their ghoulish shrieking as they burned away.

"Layla, look out!" Musa said, and launched a seemingly feeble sonic blast in what looked like the completely wrong direction – until the stone surrounding them magnified it and sent it hurtling at the saliva monster aiming its acidic spittle at the princess of Tides.

The girl turned, giving Musa a surprised look, "Good shot."

A sharp clap dissipated the dark surroundings, dropping the six girls back into the Great Hall. "Musa, Layla, Bloom, you pass. I would suggest you pack things that have sentimental value, they tend to be the most helpful in such a soulless environment." The old woman's eyes softened at the apologetic looks the remaining three were giving the others, "It's alright if you couldn't connect with your winx this time. Shadowhaunt is very unpredictable; being able to survive down there is not always a good thing."

[-M-]

"_It's not a problem yet."_

"_Bullshit!" Dracy hissed, glaring at the raised eyebrows she received from people around her. Annoyed, she gripped the payphone tighter and shimmied into the box a little more. "I've _seen_ where girls like her and up and it's nowhere good. You were her caretaker and her lover, and you're making the world a better place for her, right? So how 'bout you do something for her _right now? _Send her a letter, explain yourself. Something!"_

"_You and I both know that's not an option to us. She'll be a good girl and report to Faragonda, and then they could trace it back to me."_

"_She's not being a very good girl now, though, is she?" Darcy growled rhetorically, "I've been telling you what she's been doing all summer, and – guess what? – she just did it _again. _ At _school._ Summer's different – screw the rules, blah, blah, blah – but school's serious. She would've gotten expelled if Faragonda hadn't wanted someone with a connection to you to use. And you know what she did while she was under? She _kissed _the flower fairy's boyfriend! I don't know how close they are after that shitstorm of a summer, but you can bet there'll be tension there. Just who is she supposed to turn to?"_

"_You!" Baltor's voice thundered through the line; she pulled the phone away from her ear, "You're supposed to be looking after her! I'm on another _planet! _Just what the hell do you expect me to do?" A very short pause. "You got the text I sent you?"_

"_The one about unleashing your inner power? Yeah, I cast the spell on her more than a few days ago. She's been having prophetic dreams, not good ones. Anticipate more fucked up action soon." Darcy scowled. "You know, while she's having weird dreams, you could probably project something to her. Comfort her, give her a crutch. You're good at that."_

"_That can't be good for her."_

"_It is better than what she's doing to herself right now. Act a little crazy, even – don't be the regular Baltor, or else she'll just keep missing you. She's twenty, all hormonal – an erotic dream's perfectly normal for her."_

"_I'm not – that's – you can't - !"_

_Darcy smirked. "Just _think_ about it."_

"_Can we get back onto something relevant, please?!" Baltor said, embarrassment coloring his tone._

_The witch snickered, and drew the conversation back to his findings._

…

…

A/N: 'Ello, babes! How 'bout reviewin' and giving me some feedback?


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